In Memoriam Vos
by RedQueenMiku
Summary: The aim of the game is simple: if you survive, you live. With the entire world turned against you, though, Do you have what it takes to survive? This is the question Lemmy Koopa has to answer when he and his siblings end up in a strange world with even stranger rules. (Human AU; rated T for violence and gore)
1. You're It

_"The aim of the game is simple. If you survive, you live. With the entire world turned against you, though, do you have what it takes to survive?"_

 _"Tag. You're it."_

* * *

He groaned, trying to find the strength to move. Every bone in his body ached for no reason. He couldn't remember what had caused it. A putrid stench thickened the air around him, making it hard to breathe. He then opened his eyes for the first time since regaining consciousness and couldn't help but scream in terror at what he saw: he'd been lying on top of a corpse. The body was that of a man, most likely in his twenties. The man's body was covered in open wounds, probably made by the jagged-edged knife that was now planted in the man's skull. The reeking odor that filled the air was that of the man's blood, which was splattered even as far as a few feet out from the body.

"Lemmy! Lemmy!"

He shot up at the sound of his name being called. The voice was familiar.

"I'm here!" he called back. He knew Ludwig's voice anywhere. Of course, any familiar face was more than welcome now.

Ludwig then rounded the corner then reeled back on the sight of his brother standing over a corpse. Lemmy knew this immediately and quickly stepped backward to signal to Ludwig that he wasn't involved in whatever had happened there.

"What happened here?!" Ludwig said.

"I don't know!" Lemmy cried, "I didn't do this! Honest!"

Ludwig fell silent, staring at Lemmy. His expression had changed. He didn't look horrified, but, rather, it was almost a look of curiosity, as if he was contemplating something. For a second, Lemmy thought he saw Ludwig twitch, but, other than that, he didn't move at all. It was an almost terrifying change in Ludwig's mood.

"Lud?" Lemmy finally spoke, breaking the silence. Ludwig jumped a bit, seeming startled.

"I-it's nothing! Honest!" Ludwig stuttered. Now he looked like he was nervous, but about what?

"Is everything okay?" Lemmy asked.

"Everything is fine," Ludwig replied, though he didn't sound too sure of himself. There was another moment of silence between the two before Ludwig decided to speak again.

"I could take you to where the rest of us are," Ludwig offered, "As of now, Iggy's the only one still missing."

Lemmy nodded vigorously. This place was beginning to make him feel uneasy. Come to think of it...

"Um," Lemmy said quietly, "Do you know where we are?"

"No," Ludwig answered, "But I'd wager to guess Iggy's experiment had something to do with it."

Lemmy knew as well as Ludwig did that this was probably true. Iggy had conducted an experiment a while back that had some nasty side-effects in the Koopa household. Something that Iggy had referred to as "dimensional warping" was beginning to occur and this always resulted in the Koopalings being taken to the strangest of places, like this one.

Ludwig turned and began to walk away. Lemmy followed close behind. He was still a little sore, but, for the most part, the aching had died down. As he looked around, he saw multiple tall buildings: a tell-tale sign of a metropolitan area. Something was wrong, though. A deathly silence filled the air and there was no one around. Everything was in a state of disrepair, as if no one had taken proper care of anything in years. What was made of metal was rusted, what was made of brick was crumbling, and what was made of concrete was cracked. Broken glass and peeling paint defined every building in sight. Even the sky was ominous, bearing dark, low-hanging clouds with a rust-colored tinge to them. Nothing was bright. Nothing was colorful.

"What kind of place is this?" Lemmy muttered to himself. He then looked over at Ludwig. The nineteen-year-old Koopaling seemed distressed over something. His dull, gray eyes stared aimlessly off into the distance and, every so often, his upper lip would twitch a little. Sometimes, he'd involuntarily shudder, causing him to lose his balance for a moment. Something was definitely wrong. Ludwig was stubborn, though. Even if there was something wrong, there didn't seem to be any indication that he was willing to share it with Lemmy. Did it have anything to do with the corpse from earlier, or was it entirely unrelated?

Soon, Lemmy got the chance to finally see his reflection, albeit in a broken window. There was blood smeared across his face and his clothes, likely from the corpse from earlier. He wished he had something to clean it off with. He tried wiping it off with his hand, but that didn't seem to do much good. The blood was beginning to dry and there was little he could do about it without a wet cloth of some sort.

"Did you wake up there?" Ludwig asked suddenly.

"Actually, yes," Lemmy said with a nod, "I woke up and the first thing I saw was...that..."

Ludwig didn't reply. Lemmy had to wonder what Ludwig was thinking about.

"What about you?" Lemmy asked, "What happened when you-"

"Nothing," Ludwig responded quickly, "Nothing happened at all. There was no one there."

Lemmy knew it had to be a lie. There were splotches of blood standing out clearly against the stark white of the dress shirt Ludwig was wearing.

"Don't lie to me," Lemmy said, "Where did that blood come from?"

"B-blood?" Ludwig stuttered, looking himself over and immediately spotting the mentioned substance staining his shirt. He then looked away from Lemmy, gritting his teeth. He almost seemed to be trembling.

"You guys!"

The new voice pierced through the awkward silence. Lemmy looked ahead to see that it was Wendy calling out to them from a building up ahead. Ludwig immediately hurried ahead, Lemmy deciding to follow close behind. Once inside, Lemmy found that Roy and Morton were there also. That was when Lemmy noticed something strange. Every eye in the room seemed fixated on him with an unwavering gaze. In an instant, though, the rest of his siblings turned away from him and stared at each other.

"Well," Ludwig interjected, "I think I'll show Lemmy to his room. He must be tired."

"What makes you think he's tired?" Morton retorted, "What if he's hungry? I can show him where the food is!"

"If anyone's going to be showing him anywhere, it's me," Wendy butted in. She, Ludwig, and Morton then began to argue. Roy, though, stayed silent.

"It's okay! It's okay!" Lemmy cried to try to calm his siblings down, "I think I just want to talk to you guys right here! You guys don't need to show me around!"

"I can at least show you your room," Ludwig said, grabbing Lemmy's arm and forcefully dragging him away from the others. Before they could get too far, though, Morton lashed out and grabbed Lemmy's other arm.

"Let go, Morton," Ludwig hissed.

"No way!" Morton said, "I'm the one who's going to be showing him to his room! Roy's on my side too, right Roy?"

"Depends on what your side means," Roy said skeptically, "If being on your side means what I think it means..."

"Come on, Roy!" Morton called, "We talked about this earlier! You and me!"

"That's what I was afraid of," Roy grumbled. He then made his way toward Morton, taking Lemmy's arm in one hand and shoving Morton away with the other one. He gripped Lemmy's arm so tightly that it was beginning to hurt.

"What are you doing?" Ludwig asked nervously.

"I wanna know that too!" Lemmy said.

"You and Wendy too?" Roy asked.

"You can't really mean to tell me that you..." Ludwig trailed off, glaring at Roy, "You of all people..."

"There's a sort of self-control one has to have in situations like these. I thought you would know that too, but I guess I was wrong," Roy replied.

"Since when have you been the poster-boy for self-control?!" Ludwig shouted.

"Well, seeing as I'm the only one in this situation that still seems to be in his right mind-"

"Right mind?! You've gotta be kidding me!"

Roy then grabbed Lemmy around the waist, wrenching him from Ludwig's grasp. Ludwig reeled back before Roy delivered a solid left hook to his jaw, sending him sprawling onto the floor. Roy then turned to glare at Wendy, who seemed genuinely afraid.

"Roy! Stop it!" Lemmy said, fighting against Roy's grasp.

"Lemmy's right, Roy," another voice interjected. Roy immediately whirled around and Lemmy was able to see that the voice belonged to Larry. There was something wrong, though. Larry seemed to be extremely off balance and he was shaking like a leaf, his eyes wide.

"Larry. Stop," Roy said, "You know that I don't want to hurt you. I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"Liar, liar, liar," Larry snarled, "Nothing's gonna get done around here with that kind of attitude. Just put Lemmy down and we'll talk. Okay?"

"Listen to him, Roy," Ludwig interjected. He was back on his feet, now practically glaring daggers at Roy while using one hand to cover up the spot where his jaw was obviously swollen from the damage done by Roy's blow. The door to the room then slammed shut, which was Morton's doing.

"Are any of you going to listen to me," Roy growled, "or are we going to have to do this the hard way?"

"I'd think you'd be better off listening to us than trying to get us to listen to you," Ludwig replied, "After all, Larry was right when he said that nothing is going to get done around here with that kind of attitude."

"D-do I get any kind of say in this?" Lemmy asked, trembling. He wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but he just wanted the fighting to stop.

"I think it would do us some good to see what Lemmy has to say," Ludwig responded, intentionally using the statement to take a stab at Roy.

"No way," Roy replied, "You know that he's just going to say what you want him to say. He doesn't know any better."

"He knows that his brothers and sister love him and only want the best for him," Ludwig retorted, taking another stab at Roy.

"How can you even say that crap with a straight face?!" Roy shouted.

"Quit it, Roy!" Lemmy screamed, "I can't take it anymore! Just put me down and go away!"

"Listen to him, Roy," Ludwig prodded.

"He doesn't understand what he's saying," Roy snarled.

"Yes I do!" Lemmy cried, struggling harder against Roy, "Quit bullying them! You're going too far!"

"We're leaving, Lemmy," Roy said, hoisting Lemmy up over his shoulder.

"You'd better not," Ludwig growled. Lemmy then was able to kick Roy in the stomach and get his older brother to drop him to the floor. As Roy lay in a coughing fit on the ground, Lemmy ran over to where Ludwig was and wrapped his arms around his brother in a hug, tears streaming from his eyes.

"Don't worry, Lemmy," Ludwig said, comforting his little brother, "You're with me now. Everything's going to be just-"

At that moment, Ludwig was knocked backwards away from Lemmy. Something then cut into Lemmy's cheek as Ludwig fell, leaving a bleeding wound behind. Before Lemmy even had time to wonder, though, there was the sound of an object clattering to the floor, which turned out to be a large kitchen knife, its blade soaked in blood. Lemmy was then whisked up off the floor once again by Roy and held tightly against his brother's chest. Ludwig began to get up, his left hand over his now-bleeding nose and his right hand reaching for the bloodied knife. Lemmy then looked at Larry, Morton, and Wendy, who were now revealing their own knives.

"I didn't want it to come to this," Roy growled, whipping one of the same kind of knives out of his pocket and pointing it toward Ludwig.

"Wh-what's going-"

"You could have told him," Ludwig retorted, interrupting Lemmy, "You could have told him everything. You could have made things so much easier for yourself."

"I didn't want him to think that way about you," Roy responded, "Of course, I guess that, now that that's out there..."

"Go ahead," Ludwig went on, "Tell him everything. Tell him how we all want to kill him. Tell him about how I killed a man this morning because I suddenly have a taste for human flesh. Tell him how much of a saint you are for having 'self-control'. That bullcrap excuse you're giving us to try to explain all of this is really starting to get on my nerves."

"We're leaving," Roy asserted, ignoring Ludwig's remark.

"You're going to have a hard time of that, Roy," Ludwig snarled, "There are four of us and only two of you. How are you going to manage that?"

"Like this!" Roy shouted as he immediately darted left to get around Ludwig. Larry then began his own pursuit, rapidly gaining on Roy as Ludwig snatched up his knife and followed. Wendy then prepared to attack from the front while Morton guarded the door. Roy quickly dodged a swipe from Wendy, shoving her backward to use her to knock Larry to the ground, which also ended up tripping up Ludwig and sending him sprawling to the floor. Morton then tried to slash at Lemmy as he and Roy approached, but Roy caught Morton's hand before he could strike and tossed Morton to the side before flinging the door open and escaping with Lemmy. Lemmy could hear Ludwig cursing from behind them as they left. What happened to his siblings to turn them into the monsters they'd become?


	2. Can You Trust Him?

Lemmy and Roy ran for quite a while, finally stopping to rest once they'd left the city. Lemmy thought he'd collapse from exhaustion long before they'd stopped. Now he could finally rest. His legs felt like jelly and every breath stabbed at his lungs, but at least he was safe.

"Take deep breaths," Roy said, "It's going to be okay."

"Why did they...want to kill me?" Lemmy said inbetween breaths.

"Because you...well, you're 'it', I guess..." Roy responded hesitantly.

"'It'? What does that mean?"

"I barely know myself. It has something to do with some kind of sick game, I'm told."

"Huh?"

"Apparently, everyone just knows when someone is 'it'...and whoever's 'it' is supposed to be killed. It's something I guess no one can resist."

"No one except you?"

"Yeah. The five of us knew all of it from the start. Well, everything except that you were the one that was 'it'. We all knew when we saw you, though, that you were the one. I don't know how it works or why it works the way it does. Apparently, though, if the person who's 'it' is able to survive for three days, they'll have a wish granted or something like that."

"Really?!"

"It's not that simple, though. In order to get the wish, there has to be a life given in the process. You give a name and the person dies. It's apparently also something you can't avoid. It's necessary to have a wish granted to get out of being 'it'."

"B-but I don't know anyone in this world except for you guys!"

"That's exactly the problem. People don't give their names out that easily in this world for that exact reason."

Lemmy held his head in his hands, trying to think of what to do. Roy then placed a hand on Lemmy's shoulder.

"When you have to give a name," Roy said, "I want you to give them mine."

"What?!" Lemmy cried, "I can't do that! I couldn't do that to you!"

"It might give you guys a chance to go home and get out of this mess! If I have to die to get you guys home, that's something I'm willing to do."

"B-but why?!"

"Because I'm not about to watch you guys kill each other, that's why!"

Lemmy stared at Roy for a moment while trying to take everything in.

"I'm not going to let you say no," Roy interrupted. Lemmy shrank back, biting his lip. Roy had always been the most stubborn of the Koopalings and, when he had his mind set on a goal, he'd do stop at nothing to make sure that goal was accomplished.

There was silence between the two Koopalings for a while. Lemmy laid back in the grass and stared at the dark, dingy clouds overhead. Before he knew it, tears began streaming from his eyes. He shut his eyes tight and bared his teeth. All of this was more than he thought he could handle. He then glanced back at Roy, who was now staring off into the distance. Suddenly, Roy tensed up. Lemmy sat up to try to see what Roy was staring at and immediately saw it on the horizon.

"Iggy!"

Lemmy scrambled his feet and raced toward his twin brother, who met him with a warm embrace. Roy arrived soon after.

"You don't know how happy I am to see you!" Lemmy exclaimed cheerfully.

"I've been looking for you everywhere!" Iggy said, "Where are the others?"

"Don't ask," Roy said, sounding somewhat miffed. Iggy stared at Roy for a moment in bewilderment.

"Now that the three of us are together, we can take on anything that comes our way!" Lemmy cheered, pumping a fist in the air.

"I wouldn't trust him if I were you," Roy snarled, glaring at Iggy. Iggy took a step back, sensing Roy's hostility.

"Come on, Roy!" Lemmy retorted, "Iggy's completely trustworthy! He's my twin brother! The two of us are closer than anything!"

"Cut me a break!" Iggy said defensively, "I'm not some kind of murderer!"

"Everyone else seems to be, though," Lemmy explained, "Lud, Larry, Morton, and Wendy all tried to kill me a minute ago! It was really scary!"

Iggy reeled back in shock, rendered speechless.

"It's all part of some kind of sick game," Roy said, "It's like a reverse game of tag, only, if you're it, you die."

"Is Lemmy 'it'?!" Iggy exclaimed, staring at Lemmy in horror.

"Yep," Lemmy replied gloomily.

There was a moment of silence between the three Koopalings.

"Well," Iggy finally spoke up, "It's too dangerous to stick around here. Why don't we hop on a train to Armorie?"

"Armorie?" Lemmy repeated in confusion.

"Yeah," Iggy replied, "It's practically a weapons stockhouse. I was there a little just before I came here."

"It'd give us some ammo to fight back with, that's for sure," Roy interjected, seeming to try to push Iggy out of the conversation.

"We're not going to hurt anyone, are we?" Lemmy asked. Iggy cringed at the question.

"We're going to try not to hurt anyone," Roy answered, "If we have to, though, we will defend ourselves."

Lemmy was hesitant to reply. He couldn't stand the thought of having to pull a weapon on one of his siblings, but Roy was right. He had to have something to defend himself with and Armorie seemed like a good place to get it.

"All right," Lemmy said, "We'll go to Armorie."

"Great!" Iggy exclaimed, "All we have to do is get on a train! There are trains departing from the station here all the time! All we have to do is catch a ride on one of them!"

"How will we do that without being seen by someone who'll want to try to kill Lemmy?" Roy asked.

"Simple! We just hop into one of the boxcars!" Iggy answered, "It's the perfect solution!"

"Let's go, then!" Lemmy cheered, "Armorie awaits!"

Iggy then led the way to the station where they'd catch their train to Armorie. Lemmy followed close behind and he quickly noticed that Roy was trying to stay close to Lemmy.

"If you don't trust him, you can just tell him," Lemmy said, falling back next to Roy.

"I can't help it," Roy said, "If we can't trust the rest of them, it's really going to be hard to trust Iggy."

"He's my twin brother, Roy," Lemmy countered, "He and I are closer than close. I know he'd never do anything to me. He couldn't possibly."

"Are you sure you're not just saying that?" Roy said skeptically.

"I know for a fact he can't hurt me," Lemmy said, "His mental state won't let him; not with his co-"

Lemmy stopped short, slapping his hand over his mouth. He'd completely forgotten himself and almost told Roy what he promised Iggy he'd never tell anyone. It was Iggy's darkest secret and Lemmy had sworn to never tell another soul.

"What were you about to say?" Roy asked.

"Nothing!"

Lemmy raced back ahead to walk next to Iggy. He'd dodged a bullet there.

"What were you talking to Roy about?" Iggy asked.

"He doesn't trust you," Lemmy explained, "I was trying to explain to him that you would never hurt me."

"What if you can't trust him?"

Lemmy froze, stopping where he was.

"I'm just saying-"

Iggy was cut off by a low rumble in the distance that seemed to be coming closer.

"I think that's it," Iggy said, taking Lemmy's hand and leading him forward. Lemmy's head began to hurt, with horrible thoughts racing through his mind all at once. What if he couldn't trust Roy? What if Roy was trying to play him for a fool like Ludwig was earlier? Roy had helped him out then, but what made him so sure that Roy was really on his side?

Within a moment, a large, black steam train appeared on the horizon, getting closer. Once the Koopaling trio was close enough, they found an open boxcar and jumped inside.

"Whew!" Iggy sighed, leaning back against one of the walls, "We made it!"

"What was it that you were saying earlier?" Roy asked, looming over Iggy.

"Lemmy and I were just talking, is all," Iggy answered, sounding slightly unnerved. He was visibly trembling and twitching.

"You said that Lemmy couldn't trust me," Roy snarled.

"Th-that?" Iggy stuttered, "I-I just-"

Roy snatched Iggy up by his shirt collar before he could finish.

"You have some nerve, genius," Roy growled, "I'd never do anything to Lemmy."

"I wouldn't either!" Iggy retorted, "You have to believe me!"

"Quit fighting, you two!" Lemmy cried, "I don't want you to fight!"

"I want him to go away," Iggy muttered.

"What was that?" Roy snarled.

"Lemmy should come with me," Iggy continued, "He'd be safe with me and we could get away from anyone who might want to hurt him. I don't want to take a chance on trusting you. Lemmy's too important for that."

"No freakin' way!" Roy retorted, "There's no way I'm letting Lemmy go off on his own with a psychopath like you!"

"Iggy wouldn't hurt me, Roy!" Lemmy shouted, "I already told you that!"

"I can't be sure of that!" Roy replied, "I just want to keep you safe, Lemmy!"

"I don't know if you're telling me the truth, Roy!"

All three Koopalings fell silent. The only noise for a brief moment was the clattering of the train's wheels on the tracks below.

"You keep saying that Iggy's not trustworthy," Lemmy continued, "but did you ever stop to think that you're not all that trustworthy either? You've been bullying us since we were little and I have no reason to trust you with my life in any situation, much less this one. Then, you suddenly come out with some crap about wanting to get us home no matter what the cost? Why should I believe all that?"

"Iggy's been putting ideas into your head," Roy muttered under his breath.

"Lemmy's right," Iggy said, "There's no reason why he should trust you."

"What about him?!" Roy said, tightening his grip on Iggy's shirt collar "He's being pretty obsessive right now, and, quite frankly, it's starting to creep me out!"

"I know I can trust him!" Lemmy explained, "I have every reason to trust him!"

"What reason do you not have to trust me?!" Roy countered, "I saved your life back there! Doesn't that mean anything?!"

Lemmy was struck speechless. Maybe Roy was right.

"Don't listen to him, Lemmy!" Iggy shouted, "He's trying to trick you!"

"Shut it, you psycho!" Roy said, shoving Iggy across the box car and causing him to tumble to the floor. That's when Lemmy had enough. He rushed toward Roy with a piercing shriek and tackled Roy with all his might, knocking the larger Koopaling over. Roy tried to push Lemmy off of him, but Lemmy held on tight against all of Roy's struggling. Lemmy then grabbed Roy's head and, mustering every ounce of strength in his tiny body, slammed it against the floor, knocking Roy unconscious. Lemmy then collapsed on top of Roy and began sobbing.

"Lemmy?" Iggy said, getting up, "Are you okay?"

"It hurts, Iggy," Lemmy sobbed.

"What hurts?"

"Everything."

Iggy immediately rushed over to Lemmy and pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Don't worry," Iggy said, "I'm here now. It'll all be okay."

Lemmy sniffed and wrapped his arms around his twin brother.

"I know you'd never hurt me, Iggy."

* * *

Lemmy stared at the scenery soaring by outside the door of the boxcar. He and Iggy were sitting next to each other against the wall on one side of the car while Roy still lay unconscious on the other side. It had been like this for about an hour now. Since then, the sun had set and night had fallen on the world.

"Do you want me to check out that cut on your cheek?" Iggy offered

"Oh!" Lemmy responded, remembering the wound, "Sure. If you want to, you can."

Iggy moved in front of Lemmy and ran his fingers over the wound on Lemmy's face.

"How did it happen?" Iggy asked.

"Ludwig did it," Lemmy answered, "He was going to stab me, but Roy hit him and he only ended up scratching my face."

Iggy groaned at Lemmy's reply, stroking the cut he was inspecting. Lemmy decided to quit talking about Roy for the time being and let Iggy take care of things. Iggy then pressed down on the injury, causing Lemmy to wince.

"That hurts!" Lemmy said as Iggy pressed down harder. Strangely enough, though, Iggy didn't stop. He kept applying more pressure until his fingernails dug into the wound, causing Lemmy to cry out in pain. Iggy immediately pulled his hand away after that and frantically tried to clean his blood-covered fingernails on his shirt.

"What was that for?!" Lemmy cried, holding his hand against his cheek. Iggy didn't respond, but simply stared at Lemmy with a terrified gaze, once again trembling and twitching.

"Are you okay?" Lemmy asked.

"I-I'm sorry f-for the p-pain," Iggy stuttered.

"It's okay! It's okay!" Lemmy said quickly, "I'm fine! I'm sorry I yelled at you!"

"I-I can't live without you," Iggy continued, seeming to be in some sort of daze, "I-I love you. I-I'd never...never...never..."

Iggy began getting even closer so that he was almost on top of Lemmy. Lemmy, thinking he read Iggy's intentions, hugged Iggy tightly to seal his apology, but Iggy quickly tore Lemmy off of him and tossed the little Koopaling to the side. He then pounced, pinning Lemmy to the floor before pulling a knife out of his pocket and holding it above his twin brother, ready to strike.

"I-Iggy?!" Lemmy screamed, "Wh-what are you doing?!"

"I-I-I have to do it! I-I can't not do it!" Iggy began shouting in a frenzy, "I-I can bring you back to life! It'll be simple! I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you!"

Iggy then plunged the knife into Lemmy's right shoulder. Lemmy screamed in agony as Iggy twisted the knife around inside.

"Am I hurting you? Is this bad? Does it matter? I can bring you back to life! I can kill you and bring you back to life! Nothing can ever separate us! I can't let them do it! I have to do it! I belong to you! I'm the only one who deserves to do it!"

"Stop, Iggy! Stop!" Lemmy shrieked.

"I can't stop! I won't stop! I'll never stop loving you! You're the only one in the world I love! I love you! I love you! I love you! I love you! I lo-!"

Iggy let out an unearthly shriek as he was tackled to the ground by Roy, who had finally regained consciousness.

"Let me go!" Iggy screamed, "I have to do it! I can't let you do it! It has to be me! I love him! I love him like you never will! Every bit of me belongs to him!"

Roy quickly yanked Iggy to his feet and punched the psychotic Koopaling hard in his jaw. Iggy was sent stumbling backward toward the door of the boxcar.

"Iggy!"

It was too late. Lemmy's blood ran cold as he watched Iggy tip over backward and fall out of the boxcar. Roy immediately rushed over to the door and looked out to see if Iggy was all right. Lemmy's head began pounding and his vision began to blur. Everything he'd thought about Iggy had been absolutely undoubtedly wrong and now Iggy might be dead because of it. It was then that he blacked out.


	3. A Proposal

It had been a stressful time navigating the outsides of the rear cars of the train, but Roy eventually made it to the rear passenger car. He could only count himself lucky that, for whatever reason, this particular train carried both passengers and cargo.

Roy slid open the door on the back of the car and stepped inside, glad to be out of the wind. He'd told Lemmy he'd come here to get some food, but, in actuality, he just needed a moment to breathe. He was still trying to take in what had happened between Lemmy and Iggy, so he thought the best solution would be to give Lemmy a little space. The bright beams of the afternoon sun shone through the windows and onto the faces of the many people seated inside the car, making the whole scene seem almost peaceful. Roy began to wonder, though, how much chaos would break out if any of these people found out that the one person they so desperately wanted to kill was on the very same train as they were. The thought of it made Roy shudder.

Roy continued forward through a few more cars until he finally reached what he found to be a dining car. He then started to make his way to the front of the car, but he was suddenly stopped by a hand on his shoulder, making him jump.

"I never expected to see you here."

Roy whirled around to see Ludwig and Larry standing just behind him.

"What are you two doing here?!" Roy exclaimed.

"We could ask you the same thing," Ludwig said, "Of course, I think we both know why you're here."

Roy bit his lip, glaring at Ludwig.

"Don't worry," Ludwig continued, "We won't go after him just yet. Come sit with us for a minute."

Roy hesitated, but soon decided to follow Ludwig and Roy to a table toward the back of the car. The three Koopalings sat down and all was silent for a moment, leaving Roy some time to glean some new information about his brothers. Larry didn't seem to be any different from when Roy last saw him, but he certainly wasn't his normal self. He seemed to be completely consumed with the idea of killing. Last time Roy saw Larry, the youngest Koopaling couldn't stop muttering the word "die" over and over again. Quite frankly, Roy was thoroughly disturbed by it.

Roy turned his attention to Ludwig, who was seated directly across from him. He had a brand-new set of metal claws adorning his fingertips, which he tapped on the wooden table with the beat of the train's movement. He also had a more deadly look in his eye than the last time Roy saw him, which unnerved him a bit.

"How is he doing?" Ludwig suddenly spoke up, "You know who I mean."

"Why should I tell you?" Roy snapped.

"Now, now," Ludwig said, "Let's be civil. I'm only asking a question."

Roy bared his teeth. Just then, a tuxedo-clad waiter approached the table.

"Is there anything that I can get you three today?" the waiter asked.

"Unless my guest wants something, no," Ludwig says "My comrade and I have already eaten. Would you like something to eat, dear brother?"

"No," Roy answered, calming down, "I'll be getting something for me and my friend later."

The waiter nodded in reply before walking away.

"What did you two have to eat?" Roy asked curiously.

"I decided to cook our meal myself today," Ludwig said with a smirk, as if proud of himself.

"Seriously?" Roy responded incredulously, "The last time you tried to cook anything, it ended with the arrival of the fire department."

"Well," Ludwig continued, "I guess I should say that I personally demanded the chef to cook for me."

"That makes more sense," Roy replied, "but what did you have the chef cook for you that wasn't already on the menu?"

"One of the other waiters, of course," Ludwig answered with a sadistic grin, "I just held him at knife-point and told him to cook. After that, I killed him so he couldn't go spreading the word around about it."

Roy felt sick to his stomach. He knew Ludwig had mysteriously gained some strange penchant for cannibalism out of the blue, but it was still disturbing nonetheless. Ludwig chuckled, seeming pleased that he just horrified his brother.

"Enough about that, though," Ludwig said, "Are you ready to answer my question?"

"You're sick."

Ludwig stared at Roy for a minute, then burst out laughing, banging his fist on the table and causing people at nearby tables to stare at the source of the ruckus.

"You're hilarious!" Ludwig said once his laughter died down. Roy glared at Ludwig, wholly unamused.

"Come on," Ludwig prodded, "Everyone needs a good laugh now and again, even someone like me."

"It wasn't funny," Roy muttered.

"Well, no matter," Ludwig continued, calming down, "I'm still waiting on a reply from you, Roy."

Roy sighed.

"We found his twin brother yesterday afternoon."

"Really?" Ludwig responded, intrigued.

"Yeah," Roy went on, "He wanted to come with us. He said he wanted to protect his twin"

"It would make sense," Ludwig commented, "The two do seem to have a really weird attachment to each other. Is he still with you?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"He went crazy and attacked his brother while we were on the train. I was able to fend him off, but he fell off the train."

"Well, is he okay?!" Ludwig cried, seeming genuinely concerned,

"He looked to be. I haven't told him yet that I think he's still alive, but I think he's got other things on his mind right now."

"Such as?"

"Nothing you need to know."

Ludwig scoffed, averting his gaze to the window to his right.

"How do you do it?" Ludwig asked.

"How do I do what?" Roy responded.

"How do you hold back the urge to kill him? I would think that, out of all of us, you'd be the most apt to do it. How have you not killed him already? Do you not want to kill him?"

"You've got it all wrong," Roy replied, looking away, "It's not that I don't want to kill him. In fact, I want to kill him more than anything else."

"So why haven't you done it?"

"There's something you need to know about me. My life is filled with the urge to kill, but I've learned to suppress it. It's something I've built up over time. I'll see some guard in the hall that busted me for something stupid and I'll just want to snap his neck, but I've learned to hold myself back. You got on my case about my self-control speech yesterday, but you don't even know how much of it I have to use just to get through every day."

Ludwig stared at Roy in shock.

"H-have you ever wanted to kill one of us?" Ludwig asked hesitantly.

"Every single one of you."

Ludwig shrunk back, his face growing pale.

"I know," Roy continued, "You think I'm some sort of misanthropic sociopath. Don't think I don't know what that means either."

Ludwig choked.

"Well, you'd be right," Roy went on, "I'm an absolute monster, but I'm a monster that has some common sense and self-control. That's what makes me different from you right now. You follow through on your impulses, so, when those impulses are turned to killing people, you can't hold yourself back."

Ludwig bit his lip, looking away from Roy.

"You know I'm telling the truth," Roy said, "That's why you won't look at me."

"Shut up!" Ludwig shouted, banging his fist on the table. His cool demeanor had completely shattered and he was beginning to lose it. Ludwig then slammed his head down on the table, covering it with his hands. Roy decided to stay quiet so as not to spark Ludwig's anger. Instead, things were kept silent while Ludwig gathered himself. Roy noticed that Larry hadn't said anything the entire time. Ludwig had probably told him to keep silent for the train ride to keep from alarming anyone with some rambling about death and destruction.

"I didn't call you here to talk about how I'm a horrible person," Ludwig snarled, sitting up again, "I came here to make a proposal, and that's still what I intend to do, whether it makes me some kind of monster or not."

"Proposal?" Roy repeated, "What kind of proposal?"

Ludwig reached beneath his seat for something and, upon locating it, set it on the table. It was an ornately-decorated revolver, something perfectly suited for Ludwig's tastes.

"I'd sent for weapons from Armorie before we ever knew that we'd have to be using them against our own brother," Ludwig explained, "This is one of those weapons."

Ludwig then slid the revolver across the table to Roy, who took it hesitantly.

"What do you want me to do with this?" Roy asked.

"I want you to reconsider killing him."

"And if I refuse?"

"Keep the weapon anyway. You might change your mind."

Roy gave Ludwig a skeptical look before looking the weapon over.

"It's loaded with just one bullet," Ludwig explained "I'd think it'd be enough to get the job done."

Roy scoffed, setting the gun back down on the table.

"You have until we arrive in Armorie to make your decision," Ludwig continued, "If you refuse my offer, the two of us will meet you at the station and I'll take care of things myself. You might be able to guess what I'll do to him if he gets into my hands."

Roy shuddered.

"You're absolutely sick."

* * *

Lemmy paced back and forth across the boxcar waiting for Roy to come back. He'd finally been able to sort his thoughts and he'd calmed down significantly. He decided to push Iggy out of his mind for now. Roy didn't seem too concerned with Iggy's condition, so it had to mean he thought it was okay, so Lemmy thought.

Just then, Roy returned with a loaf of bread and a stick of butter in tow.

"You're back!" Lemmy said cheerfully.

"Sorry I couldn't get much," Roy said, "I had to get in touch with someone who had...connections in the kitchen. He was able to get me something to bring back, but he wouldn't get me much..."

Lemmy could have sworn he heard Roy curse under his breath.

"It's okay," Lemmy said, "I'm sure they did their best."

"Far from it," Roy growled, handing the bread off to Lemmy.

"Why do you say that?" Lemmy asked. Roy stayed silent for a moment before answering.

"It was Ludwig."

"What?!" Lemmy cried, reeling back, "Ludwig's here?! He knows you're here?!"

"He knows you're here too."

"Wh-what are we going to do?!"

"Relax. He said he's not going to do anything to us as long as we're on the train. Once we're in Armorie, though..."

Lemmy shut his eyes tightly, almost wishing he could block out what Roy just said. It had just been one problem after the other since he arrived in this horrible place. He just wished it all could stop.

"On the bright side," Roy continued, "I think Iggy's okay. It didn't look like he-"

"Can't we just get off the train?!" Lemmy interrupted, "We could get off the train before it ever got to Armorie! Ludwig would be none the wiser!"

"Unless you want to risk dying trying to do so," Roy replied, "I'd suggest staying on the train. It was hard enough getting on, but it'll be even harder getting off."

Lemmy sighed and sat down on the floor. There was no avoiding it. He'd have to confront Ludwig again. He then noticed the gun sticking out of Roy's pocket.

"Where did you get that?" Lemmy asked, gesturing to the weapon. Roy pulled the gun out of his pocket and let Lemmy hold it. It was an ornately-decorated revolver with a single bullet loaded into it.

"Ludwig gave it to me," Roy explained, "He has some idea in his head that he can get me to turn on you."

"What are you going to do with it?" Lemmy asked.

"Yes. What are you going to do with it?"

The familiar voice startled Lemmy. Roy immediately positioned himself between Lemmy and the door as Ludwig and Larry entered.

"What are you doing here?" Roy growled.

"I simply couldn't wait until we arrived in Armorie to see Lemmy again, so we followed you back here," Ludwig replied smugly.

"We had a deal, Ludwig. I took your stupid gun, now you hold up your end."

"Calm down, Roy," Ludwig said, "I intend to hold up my end of the deal. I just wanted to sit in on the little party you two have going on in here until we reach our destination. It'll help me make sure you two don't try to jump ship."

Lemmy stared at Ludwig in terror. He'd never been this afraid of his own brother before. Just then, Larry lashed out in front of Ludwig, trying to make for Lemmy, but Ludwig grabbed Larry's arm just before it was out of his grasp.

"Save it, Larry," Ludwig said, pulling a syringe from his pocket, "We'll be in Armorie soon."

Ludwig then stabbed the needle into Larry's arm, injecting the substance inside the syringe into Larry's bloodstream. Larry quickly slumped to the floor unconscious.

"What did you do to him?!" Lemmy cried.

"It's a sedative," Ludwig explained, "It's one of the other things I had sent in from Armorie. It will wear off in about two hours. Coincidentally, that's about how much time we have left on this train together. Convenient, hm?"

Lemmy began to feel lightheaded. In two short hours, Ludwig would try to kill him once more. He didn't think he could go through that again.

"So, Lemmy," Ludwig said, seating himself against the wall on one side of the boxcar, "How have you been?"

"Me?" Lemmy asked bewilderedly, "Why do you care?"

"You're still my brother, you know," Ludwig replied, "That's why I care."

"Can it before I knock you into next week," Roy snapped, "Lemmy's been through too much in the past 24 hours to have you patronizing him. If I'm going to let you stay, you're going to keep your mouth shut. Got that?"

"You called me a monster," Ludwig growled, "Now I'm trying to have a civil conversation with my little brother like a normal person and you're criticizing me for that? That's a double standard, Roy."

"I didn't call you a monster," Roy retorted, "You just chose to take it that way."

"I'm tired of you talking to me like you're some sort of philosopher," Ludwig hissed, "You're not supposed to be calling me out on my faults. You're not supposed to be getting under my skin like this. You're supposed to be the same, stupid brute you were before. You're not supposed to suddenly be smart."

"Well, you're not supposed to suddenly be a cannibal, so I guess we're even."

"That's completely different! You're going on about things even I can't comprehend! You're Roy! You're supposed to be stupid!"

"Stupid my freaking rear end! You always count me out because you think I'm some big dumb brute! You never actually stop to see if I have anything important to say!"

"You're not supposed to have anything important to say! That's how it works in our family! Everyone has their place! You solidified your place as the big, dumb brute, so that's who you are!"

"Well, I say that's stupid! Who are you in the family?! The smart one?! The one that always has something important to say?! The one who's so much better than everyone else?! What makes you any better than me?!"

"Be quiet!" Lemmy screamed. He then collapsed to the floor and began to cry. Both Roy and Ludwig stayed completely silent, but Lemmy could practically feel them staring each other down. He just couldn't take the tension anymore. It was making him feel sick. He didn't know how to feel and it made his head hurt like crazy. He almost couldn't wait until the train arrived in Armorie so he wouldn't have to listen to Roy and Ludwig argue anymore. He just hoped he was able to live through it.


	4. Game Over

Lemmy, Roy, and Ludwig soon found themselves all sitting in separate corners of the boxcar. Lemmy had his head buried in his knees. He didn't even want to look at his brothers anymore. Apparently, he'd also underestimated how long he'd been unconscious after Iggy fell off the train. It was now dark outside, so he could barely see his brothers anyway. It had been deathly silent between the three of them for quite a while now. All Lemmy knew was that it hadn't been two hours yet, as Larry was still lying unconscious in the middle of the floor. At this point, Larry was practically serving as Lemmy's timer, signifying how long he had left to live. Sometimes, Lemmy would look up to glance at Larry and think he saw Larry stir. It terrified him every time. At this point, though, he was pretty sure he was coming up on the end. Outside the door, he saw the grassy plains slowly transform into a more urban landscape and, eventually, they began to enter the city itself. It was then that Larry finally began to stir for real, groaning as he struggled to sit up. It was over.

"Looks like we should be arriving at the Armorie station any minute now," Ludwig said, making his way over to Larry to help him to his feet. Lemmy stood up as well, slowly trying to make his way to the boxcar door without catching the attention of Ludwig or Larry. He knew exactly what he had to do to survive now. The brakes screeched against the wheels as the train slowed to a halt. Before it could stop completely, though, Lemmy flung himself out the boxcar door onto the hard concrete below, eventually tumbling to a stop. His entire body hurt like crazy, but he scrambled to his feet as fast as he could and broke out into a hard run, but, before he could get too far, he was tackled to the ground and kept pinned there by Larry.

"No escape! No escape!" Larry shrieked with laughter.

"Good work, Larry!" Ludwig said, catching up. Ludwig was then caught by Roy, who pinned Ludwig's arms behind his back.

"Let him go," Roy snarled.

"Listen to me, Roy," Ludwig replied, "We don't want anyone who doesn't need to get hurt to get hurt. Do you understand me? Lemmy's the only one we want. This has nothing to do with you."

"It has everything to do with me," Roy retorted, "This is our family, Ludwig."

As Ludwig and Roy continued to argue, Larry decided to amuse himself by scraping Lemmy's face across the concrete, which ended up being extremely painful for the little Koopaling.

"I don't care what you think about this, Roy!" Ludwig shouted, "Larry! End this for me, please!"

Larry screeched with glee as he forcefully yanked Lemmy to his feet. He then quickly grabbed Lemmy's throat, holding on with an iron grip and beginning to strangle the little Koopaling. The next moment went by in a flash and Lemmy barely had time to register what had happened. Roy let go of Ludwig to pull out the revolver from his pocket, then he aimed the weapon just left of Larry's head, likely to fire off a warning shot to startle Larry into letting Lemmy go. Just as he pulled the trigger, though, Ludwig misread Roy's intentions and shoved the weapon to the right, changing the bullet's trajectory entirely. Instead of whizzing past Larry, the bullet pierced into the back of Larry's skull. Larry released his grip on Lemmy and fell forward into him, sending both of the Koopalings to the ground. Lemmy heard Ludwig scream and the revolver clatter to the ground. Ludwig rushed to Larry's side to check for a pulse, but his expression fell instantly.

"H-he's dead."

Lemmy's heart stopped for a moment. He stared up at Ludwig as the older Koopaling held his dead brother's hand tightly and began to cry. Ludwig then pulled Larry away from Lemmy, allowing Lemmy to get up and quickly move away from Ludwig. He immediately began to look around for Roy, but he was nowhere to be seen. He then took one last look at Ludwig and Larry before running away, hoping to get as far away from them as possible. He ran for a good while before finally stopping in an abandoned alleyway. The entire city was dark as night with no lights to be seen for miles besides the moon and the stars. As Lemmy slumped back against the concrete wall of a building, he stared up at the night sky, letting tears stream from his eyes.

"Why? Why?"

He had one more day to go. One more day to survive through before it would finally all be over. He began thinking about the one wish he'd be allowed at the end of all this. Now, he knew exactly what he'd use it to do. Sure, going home was important, but there was something even more important than that to worry about right now.

"I want things to go back to normal."

* * *

Ludwig held his dead brother close, still grieving for him. Lemmy had run away and Roy was nowhere to be seen, but he didn't care anymore. Just then, he heard footsteps from behind him. He turned to see Roy standing over him.

"What do you want?" Ludwig growled, tears streaming from his eyes.

"You killed him," Roy said, "You're the one who killed him."

"No! You're not blaming this on me!" Ludwig screamed, "You're the one who pulled a gun on him! You're the one who aimed it at him and pulled the trigger! I tried to prevent it from happening! I-"

Roy snatched Ludwig by his collar, lifting him into the air.

"I don't need you telling me I'm a monster!" Roy shouted, "You're the one who did it! It wasn't me! You did it!"

Obviously, Roy was in denial.

"Quit kidding yourself and face facts, Roy!" Ludwig retorted, "You're the one who killed him! You did this and you can never take it back!"

"I didn't kill him!" Roy roared, "I didn't kill him! Now, shut up before I make you regret opening your mouth in the first place!"

Ludwig lashed out and raked the metal claws on his fingers across Roy's face, which got Roy to drop him. He then scrambled to his feet and ran away as fast as he could. He'd left Larry behind, but he was nothing more than a corpse now anyway. It made him cringe just thinking about it, but it was true. Larry really was gone forever and it was all Roy's fault.

* * *

Lemmy opened his eyes. He must have fallen asleep in the alleyway. He sighed in relief, counting himself lucky that no one had found him there. He was all alone now. There was no one he could count on to get him out of trouble now.

His thoughts then turned back to the events of the night before. He had to wonder how Ludwig and Roy were handling themselves after Larry's sudden death. Just the thought of the incident still stung in Lemmy's mind. He remembered clearly what Ludwig had said just before the incident.

"We don't want anyone who doesn't need to get hurt to get hurt," Lemmy muttered to himself, repeating his older brother's words. Larry wasn't supposed to die.

Lemmy quickly pushed himself to his feet, trying to force the horrible memories out of his head for the time being. Just then, he heard someone coming his way. He quickly scrambled to climb up the brick wall of the building behind him, thanking the stars that he'd taught himself how to do so a long time ago. Once he felt like he was high enough up, he perched himself on an overhang and looked below to see who it was who was coming. Surprisingly, it was Ludwig.

"Ludwig?" Lemmy mused, "What's he doing here?"

Ludwig didn't seem to notice anything amiss in the alleyway. Lemmy quickly noticed that Ludwig was dragging a dead body behind him. Lemmy shuddered in both fear and disgust.

Lemmy then decided to follow Ludwig, making sure to keep his distance. He stayed high above Ludwig, leaping across high ledges and rooftops to try to keep up.

"Where is he going?" Lemmy thought. Ludwig almost seemed to be wandering aimlessly. Eventually, Ludwig finally stopped in another alleyway across the city from the one Lemmy spent the night in. That was when Lemmy decided to leave Ludwig be, not wanting to stick around for what would probably be a gruesome breakfast. He'd try to come back to Ludwig later.

After a bit of wandering around, Lemmy stumbled upon a series of warehouses. Upon closer inspection, he found that the warehouses were all filled with various kinds of weaponry.

"This must be where they keep all those weapons Armorie's famous for," Lemmy thought to himself. Just then, one warehouse's door slid open. Lemmy quickly hid behind a stack of crates as a group of workers left the warehouse. Fortunately, they left the warehouse's door wide open, so Lemmy was able to quickly sneak inside. Once inside, he began feeling overwhelmed by the many different kinds of weapons in the hundreds of crates inside the building.

 _"We're not going to hurt anyone, are we?"_

Lemmy felt sick to his stomach. Roy had told him earlier that he'd need something to defend himself with, but he was beginning to doubt himself. If one of his siblings attacked him like Ludwig and Larry had the night before, did he really have the gall to pull a weapon on them?

That was exactly what had killed Larry.

Lemmy's head hurt like crazy. He slumped back against a stack of crates behind him and tried to control his frantic breathing, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths. He knew he had to keep a level head if he wanted to survive.

"Hey! Who's back here?!"

Lemmy choked on a breath. Someone knew he was here. He quickly made for an open crate across the room and found it full of knives.

"Stop right there!"

Lemmy whirled around to see a stern-faced security guard making his way toward him. The guard then pulled a pistol out of the holster on his belt. Lemmy, panicking, turned back to the crate and snatched up the first knife he saw. He then dove to the floor as a thundering gunshot sounded. Lemmy quickly scrambled to his feet immediately made for the warehouse door, but another security guard was waiting there, supposedly having heard the gunshot and coming to investigate. Lemmy stopped short and started to back away, but he quickly remembered the other security guard, who was now directly behind him.

"What now?" Lemmy frantically thought. He stared down at the knife in his hand. It was his only hope now. He immediately charged at the security guard blocking the door, dodging left to avoid a gunshot and cringing as he blindly swung the knife out in front of him and felt it slice through the guard's flesh. He didn't dare open his eyes as he continued forward, accidentally stumbling into the guard he'd injured and sending them both tumbling to the floor. He heard a shout from the other security guard, then everything went silent. Finally, he was able to work up the courage to open his eyes.

He screamed.

He'd somehow managed to slice the guard's stomach open. The man was now lying unconscious on the floor in a pool of his own blood. He was still alive, but only barely. Lemmy felt like he was going to hurl. His vision blurred as he quickly scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as his feet could carry him away from the warehouse. He felt like he could collapse at any second, but he knew he had to keep going.

* * *

Lemmy took deep breaths, trying to keep from hyperventilating. In his right hand, he held the bloodied knife he'd stolen from the warehouse. In his left hand was a card he'd retrieved on a return trip to the warehouse. He returned to the scene because he remembered something that would be important for later and he'd pilfered the all-important card from the guard, who was still exactly where he'd left him. Just as he was leaving the warehouse the second time, though, he noticed an ambulance arriving. The other guard must have called for one after his partner was injured.

Lemmy clutched the card tightly. He was calming down, but he still couldn't help but worry about the man he'd almost killed earlier. The whole thing wouldn't matter in a little while anyway. Lemmy knew that, but he still felt guilty.

He decided to try to find Ludwig and watch what he was doing for a while to try to take his mind off of the security guard. He stuffed the card and the knife in his pocket and scaled a nearby building.

It didn't take him long to reach where he'd left Ludwig earlier. Thankfully, Ludwig was still there. Ludwig looked as if he was preparing to leave, though. Lemmy followed Ludwig out of the alleyway, staying about the height of a single story of a building above his brother. Ludwig then began wandering the city again. It almost seemed as if he was looking for something. Lemmy began to wonder what Ludwig was even doing in Armorie in the first place. It looked like he was already fully equipped weapon-wise. What other reason would he have had to come here?

"Hey."

The sudden call made Lemmy jump. Ludwig looked surprised as well, quickly turning to see who had called out to him. Lemmy turned as well and saw Roy making his way toward Ludwig. There were four prominent scratch marks across his face and he was glaring at Ludwig with an unnerving look.

"Wh-what do you want?" Ludwig stuttered, backing away from Roy.

"You know what I want," Roy replied, "I want you to admit that you were the one that killed him."

"You know for a fact that it wasn't me!" Ludwig shouted, "You were the one that killed him! We've already been over this!"

Lemmy's eyes widened in horror. They were fighting over who killed Larry.

"I wasn't aiming for him!" Roy yelled, "You were the one who caused the bullet to kill him!"

"Yeah, right," Ludwig snarled, "Like heck you 'weren't aiming for him'. I saw you do it with my own eyes."

"Shut up!" Roy roared, "This isn't my fault! It's your fault! It's your fault and you know it! Just admit it already!"

"I'm not the one who did it!" Ludwig retorted, "You're the one that killed him! You're the one that pulled the gun on him and you're the one that pulled the trigger! You killed him!"

Roy let out a cry and charged toward Ludwig. Without stopping to think about what he was doing, Lemmy rushed forward as well, leaping down from above and landing directly on top of Roy, sending both of them tumbling to the ground. Lemmy tried his hardest to pin Roy to the ground, but Roy quickly threw Lemmy off of him. Lemmy then pushed himself to his feet and launched himself at Roy again, latching himself tightly around Roy's waist.

"Don't hurt him!" Lemmy cried, "You told me we wouldn't hurt anyone!"

"Things are different now," Roy replied, forcing Lemmy off of him.

"What do you mean by that?!" Lemmy shouted, getting between Roy and Ludwig.

"Get out of the way!" Roy growled, "This is for me and him to settle ourselves!"

Roy then shoved Lemmy backward into Ludwig. That was when Lemmy suddenly remembered that Ludwig was currently out to kill him. He immediately tried to get away, but Ludwig was faster, grabbing Lemmy and pulling him back, restraining the little Koopaling with one arm and placing his free hand on Lemmy's shoulder. Roy quickly noticed his mistake and pulled his knife out of his pocket.

"Stop it!" Ludwig shouted, holding Lemmy closer, "I'm done with this! I don't want anyone else hurt today! That includes him!"

"What?!" Lemmy exclaimed in surprise.

"Don't give me that crap!" Roy spat, "You expect me to buy that?! That's the sorriest excuse I've ever heard!"

"Losing Larry isn't something I'm taking lightly," Ludwig retorted, "I've decided I'm not going to be a monster like you are. Are you happy now? You were preaching about self-control yesterday, so I'm sure you're at least glad to see me using it now."

Ludwig then let Lemmy go and backed away. Lemmy turned back to face Ludwig, but was promptly shoved aside by Roy.

"Don't talk to me about self-control, you chicken," Roy snarled, "You're only saying all this to save your own skin. There's only one way I'm letting you end this: say that you did it. Say that you killed him."

"I didn't kill him!" Ludwig yelled, "I'll never say I killed him because I didn't do it!"

"Say it, Ludwig!" Roy shouted, "I'll never forgive you until you say it, Ludwig von Koopa! Say it!"

"What do you think you're doing?!" Ludwig hissed, "Do you want to get me killed out here?!"

"Say you killed him and I'll stop!" Roy retorted, "Say it or I'll make sure everyone in Armorie knows your name, Ludwig von Koopa!"

"Stop it!" Lemmy screamed, "Stop it now! Don't do this!"

"People don't give out their names in this world because it could easily lead to their death," Ludwig muttered just loud enough for Lemmy to hear, "A name is a powerful weapon here."

"Just tell me what I want to hear, Ludwig!" Roy continued.

"You don't want to play this game with me," Ludwig said, teeth bared, "Don't test my patience. Two can play at this game."

"I dare you to try," Roy growled.

"Fine!" Ludwig shouted, "Just know that you asked for this, Roy Koopa!"

"Stop! Please!" Lemmy interjected, grabbing Ludwig's arm. Ludwig suddenly pulled Lemmy toward him again, this time pressing the metal claws on his fingertips against Lemmy's throat.

"Just get away from me, Roy," Ludwig continued, "Go away before I kill him. I never want to see your sorry face again."

"You wouldn't dare," Roy snarled, looking somewhat nervous, "If you kill him, you'd be going against yourself."

"I don't care about that anymore," Ludwig replied, pressing down harder so that the claws almost broke Lemmy's skin, "All I want is to get you away from me."

Roy didn't reply. He stood completely still, staring Ludwig down with a chilling glare. Just then, a shout resonated through the area. Ludwig immediately let go of Lemmy and whirled around. Lemmy made sure to get a safe distance away from Ludwig before trying to see what had made the sound. Just then, he saw three familiar faces making their way toward them.

"Wendy? Morton? Iggy?"

Wendy and Morton were on each side of Iggy, supporting him as they walked. Iggy was covered in scrapes and bruises, but he was lucky to still be alive after falling off of a moving train.

"Don't you dare touch him!" Iggy screamed, "He's not yours! He's mine!"

"Wh-what are the three of you doing in Armorie?" Ludwig stuttered.

"You're lucky we even knew that you were in Armorie!" Wendy retorted, "You two completely ditched us!"

"We found him on our way over here," Morton explained, motioning to Iggy "We came here following you."

Lemmy took the opportunity to try to sneak away, but was caught by surprise when he felt Roy's hand on his shoulder. Lemmy stared up at Roy, who was still glaring at Ludwig. Roy then bared his teeth and squeezed Lemmy's shoulder tightly, causing the little Koopaling to wince in pain.

"Don't you think we should go?" Lemmy nervously pointed out to his brother, "It doesn't look like it would be a good idea to stay here."

"I need you here," Roy said, "You're going to help me get Ludwig to confess what he did."

"What?" Lemmy exclaimed bewilderedly, "How am I going to do that?"

"By letting them tear you to pieces."

Before Lemmy could respond, Roy shoved Lemmy forward, sending him tumbling to the ground. Lemmy desperately scrambled to his feet and tried to run, but Roy was already on top of him, quickly incapacitating the little Koopaling with a swift kick to the stomach. Lemmy collapsed to the ground in pain. He heard Iggy let out a piercing screech and, before he knew it, his twin brother had him pinned to the ground.

"How could you do that to him?!" Iggy shrieked at Roy, "I'm the only one who's allowed to touch him! He's mine! He's mine because we belong to each other! You don't belong with us!"

"What are you doing?" Ludwig asked bewilderedly, turning to Roy.

"It's a dangerous thing to get a someone like me to start thinking," Roy replied, "I've lived my life trying to keep from thinking. People get hurt when someone as powerful as I am starts thinking."

Just then, Lemmy felt a strange feeling suddenly pulse through his body. His siblings must have felt it as well, because they all immediately stopped moving. Lemmy's body then began steadily heating up until he began to sweat and his vision started to blur. That's when he lost consciousness.

* * *

"Congratulations."

Lemmy's eyes immediately shot open. He was now floating, suspended in the air by some mysterious force. The only thing he could see around him was a brilliant white that hurt his eyes.

"Where am I?" Lemmy asked, trembling.

"You've done it," a mysterious voice replied, "You've survived the entire three days."

"H-huh?!" Lemmy exclaimed in confusion, "B-but it's only been two days!"

"It has been three," the voice asserted, "You seem to have been unconscious for the entire first day."

"What?! How is that possible?!"

"You've been used, young one," the voice explained, "Someone must have used you to achieve their own goals and left you behind to take the fall for it."

"I-is that why I'm in this mess?!" Lemmy cried, "Someone used me?!"

"I'm not the one to monitor any of that," the voice continued, "I simply monitor the three-day period. You've passed."

Lemmy stayed silent, blankly staring off into the distance. He'd woken up in this world on top of a corpse. Had someone used Lemmy's unconscious body to kill that man? The thought of it made Lemmy sick to his stomach.

"You may now make your wish, young child," the voice went on, "I can grant you one single-cycle wish."

"Single-cycle wish?" Lemmy repeated in confusion, "What does that mean?"

"Each three-day period constitutes one cycle. With each cycle, you are granted a more powerful wish."

"Wh-what about..."

Lemmy trailed off.

"What is it, child?"

"What about bringing someone back to life?"

There was a brief moment of silence.

"That is a five-cycle wish."

Lemmy froze.

"Y-you don't understand!" Lemmy cried, "I can't go twelve more days like this! This whole thing is tearing my family apart! I can't bear to watch them fight anymore!"

"Rules are rules, young one. They cannot be changed."

"We need Larry back! We just need everything to go back to normal! We don't belong here and we just need to get back home and have everything go back to normal! Please!"

Lemmy was crying now.

"I can send you and your siblings home as a one-cycle wish, but, if you really want me to raise the dead, you need five cycles."

"I can't survive that long! I can't do it! Please, don't make me do this!"

"No one's making you do anything, child, but rules are rules."

Lemmy bit his lip.

"I just want to go home," Lemmy sobbed, "I can't do this anymore. I want us all to go home."

"A name?"

Lemmy had almost forgotten about giving a name for his wish. He dug around in his pocket before pulling out the card he'd taken from the security guard earlier that day. It was an ID card with the security guard's name on it. He'd taken it specifically so that he wouldn't have to give one of his siblings' names. A white hand then materialized in front of Lemmy, reaching out for the card. Lemmy handed over the card and both the hand and the card disappeared in front of him. Lemmy then felt himself slip back into unconsciousness.

 _"I wonder...if I really did the right thing."_


	5. A Monster

Lemmy's eyes shot open. He immediately sat up and looked around him. He was back in his own room back at Bowser Castle. His siblings were sprawled on the floor all around him; all except Larry.

Lemmy's heart grew heavy as he pushed himself to his feet and crossed the room. Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Iggy stir. He watched blankly as Iggy slowly opened his eyes and turned his gaze to his twin.

"L-Lemmy? Wh-"

Lemmy reached out and opened the door beside him, leaving the room and slamming the door behind him as hard as he could to signal to Iggy that he just wanted to be left alone for now.

* * *

Lemmy stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. His left cheek was badly scratched from when Larry had attacked him and the scratch Ludwig had left on his right cheek was still there as well.

"Things can go back to normal, right?"

He had no idea what the answer to that question was. He didn't even have any idea where to go from here. At some point, the his father would have to find out what had happened to Larry, but he didn't exactly want to have to deliver that news now.

"How are we ever going to explain it to him?"

It was such a strange experience that no one would ever believe him if he told them. Still, the incident had claimed a life.

"It...should have been me."

Lemmy froze, gripping the sink in front of him tightly.

"It should have been me. It shouldn't have been him."

"Lemmy,"

Lemmy jumped, whirling around to see Ludwig standing in the bathroom doorway.

"Wh-what do you want," Lemmy stuttered. Even though the incident was over, he still had a subconscious wariness about his brother. Ludwig seemed to almost freeze in place, looking as if he wanted to say something but not being able to get the words out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry," Lemmy apologized, "I couldn't...Larry..."

"Don't you dare try to apologize to me," Ludwig retorted, "You have nothing to apologize for. I'm the one that needs to apologize..that is, if you'll forgive me."

"It's so strange," Lemmy mused, speaking loud enough for Ludwig to hear, "Why don't I feel like I've accomplished anything?"

"Hm?"

"I just though that, after this whole thing was over, I'd be happier, but...I'm not. Why haven't I realized that I'm home yet?"

Ludwig didn't reply. Lemmy backed away from the mirror, then turned and walked past Ludwig into the hall.

* * *

Ludwig watched as Lemmy walked away, gritting his teeth. He then headed down the hall in the opposite direction, heading down several flights of stairs until he was in the basement. He then reached a large, steel door that led to his father's private wing. No one was allowed inside except the Koopa King himself, but Ludwig knew how to get inside and, since Bowser never came down here all that often anyway, it was the perfect place for Ludwig to come when he wanted to be alone. There was nothing of any significant importance past the door anyway, at least in Ludwig's perspective. Usually he'd just sit on the other side of the door and take some time to think, which is exactly what he did now, pulling open the metal door and pulling it shut behind him before slumping back against the door.

"He never did forgive me..."

Ludwig winced at the thought. What if Lemmy really didn't feel like he could forgive his brother? He'd have every right to, considering everything Ludwig did to try to kill him.

Ludwig stared at the ceiling, thinking back over the past three days. Every single one of his actions during those three days sickened him to think about.

"Ludwig,"

Ludwig reeled back, startled by the sudden call. The hallway ahead of him was completely dark, but he knew he recognized the voice that had just called out to him.

"Roy?"

Ludwig heard Roy's footsteps slowly coming closer. He got up and felt against the wall beside him until he found a light switch. Upon switching on the light, he was able to see Roy standing a few yards away. The light in the hallway was eerily dim, but Ludwig could still make out his brother standing there.

"What are you doing here?" Ludwig asked in suspicion, "You know you're not supposed to be here."

"You're not supposed to be here either," Roy retorted.

"That's not the point," Ludwig snapped, "I asked why you were down here."

"What do you think I came down here for?" Roy said, beginning to move closer, "I came down here because I saw you coming down here."

"B-but how did you get down here before me?"

"You don't need to know that."

Roy was getting extremely close to Ludwig now. Ludwig fumbled for the latch to open the door, but Roy lashed out and grabbed Ludwig's hand before he could find it, pinning Ludwig's arm against the door.

"A-are you still angry at me, Roy?"

No answer.

"Are you still trying to get me to say I killed Larry?"

No answer.

"Are you going to say anything or are you just going to stand there?"

Roy quickly shifted his grip from Ludwig's wrist to Ludwig's forearm. He then grabbed Ludwig's upper arm with his free hand and immediately brought Ludwig's elbow down against his knee with a sickening crack. Ludwig screamed in pain as Roy let him collapse to the floor. His arm was now bent at an unnatural angle and blood flowed from where bone had pierced muscle and skin.

"I hope you're well aware of what I followed you down here for now," Roy growled, shoving Ludwig back down to the floor as he tried to stand up.

"Wh-what do you want out of me?!" Ludwig cried, "Fine! I killed him! I'm the one who killed him! It was all my fault! I'm sorry! I'm the one who changed the trajectory of the bullet! I killed him!"

"You're not the one who killed him," Roy said, much to Ludwig's surprise, "It was me."

"No!" Ludwig screamed, "It wasn't you! It was me! I'm the one-!"

Ludwig was immediately silenced by a kick to the face by Roy.

"Shut up," Roy snarled, "This isn't about who killed him. I fully acknowledge that I was the one that did it."

"What?!" Ludwig exclaimed in shock, "B-but what do you want with me?!"

"I told you earlier that it was a dangerous thing to get someone like me thinking; that people get hurt when someone as powerful as me starts thinking."

"Wh-what does that have to do with me?!"

"I may have killed him, but I'm going to make sure no one else knows that."

Before Ludwig could respond, Roy grabbed him by his head and threw him back against the solid metal door. Ludwig could feel his head throbbing and he couldn't find the strength to try to get away.

"Wh-what are you going to do to me?" Ludwig stuttered, his words beginning to slur together as his strength was sapped away.

"I'm going to remove all the evidence," Roy said, kneeling down next to Ludwig, "Anyone who was there when Larry died, that is."

Ludwig's eyes widened in realization.

"Th-that includes Lemmy too, though," Ludwig muttered.

"Obviously, I can't have anyone knowing I killed him. I'm not about to risk that information getting out. I'll go to whatever means necessary to make sure no one ever finds out what I did."

"S-so you're just going to kill more?! Don't you realize how counterproductive that is?!"

Roy immediately slammed Ludwig's head against the cold steel door. Ludwig's vision blacked out for a moment, but he struggled to stay conscious.

"Remember, Ludwig," Roy began, "I'm a monster. Monsters shouldn't be allowed to think. Monsters think, then monsters kill. It's the way we are."

"Y-you don't...have to be this way..."

Roy glared at Ludwig for a moment, then leaned his head downward, letting his trademark sunglasses slide down the bridge of his nose. Eventually, the sunglasses fell off of Roy's face altogether and Ludwig was able to see Roy's piercing crimson eyes glaring at him, but there was something else there as well.

"Those rings..."

Ludwig had always thought that only Iggy and Lemmy had those kinds of rings in their eyes; colored rings that rounded the outside of the iris. Iggy had them permanently and Lemmy only got them when he was angry. Iggy and Lemmy's rings, though, were blue, while Roy's were a bright vermilion like his irises. Ludwig had seen Roy's eyes several times before on several different occasions and not once had he seen those rings until now.

"Wh-why do you-?"

"I'm feeling a little bloodthirsty today, Ludwig," Roy interrupted, "so let's not waste any time with formalities. I'll make sure you'll never speak to anyone about what I did to Larry, so feel free to scream as loud as you want and run your vocal chords ragged for me. It's not like anyone can hear you all the way down here anyway, right?"

"Please, Roy!" Ludwig screamed in desperation, "You know you don't want to do this! Please stop!"

"You're wrong," Roy replied, "You're dead wrong, Ludwig. I'm going to make you suffer for every snide remark, every bit of ridicule, and every single time you ever put me down. Of anyone I've ever wanted to kill, Ludwig, you've always been number one on my list for never taking me seriously and always saying horrible things about me, whether behind my back or to my face. Of course, this whole incident was just the icing on the cake."

"I-I...Y-you-"

Ludwig was shaking like a leaf, feeling lightheaded.

"You finally broke me, Ludwig," Roy continued, "Now you get to see who I really am up close and personal. I'm not some big, dumb brute, Ludwig. I'm a bloodthirsty, psychopathic monster and I'm finally going to get my chance to tear you to pieces!"

* * *

Lemmy found himself wandering the halls of the castle alone. He hadn't seen any of his siblings since his confrontation with Ludwig. Quite frankly, he was glad for that. He didn't really want to talk to anyone right now.

Lemmy soon found himself headed up the stairs to one of the castle towers. In times of war, those mostly being during his father's invasions, these towers would be key points of attack, but right now the towers were out of use and were completely deserted. Lemmy had actually wandered here subconsciously and had never meant to be here, but he welcomed the peace and quiet once he reached one of the upper rooms of the tower. The only things in the room at the moment were a few cannons stationed near openings cut into the walls that the barrels could stick out from. Besides the openings for the cannons, the only glimpse of the outside from the room were two barred windows on either side of the room.

Lemmy made his way toward one of the barred windows and looked out over the city below. It was a stunningly gorgeous city that had been commissioned by King Bowser himself. At night, the city shone with colored neon lights, but it was still beautiful even in the daylight. The large city was sprawled out in front of the castle's entrance and made for a beautiful view from the royal estate.

Just then, Lemmy heard a door slam behind him. He immediately whirled around to see Roy standing just in front of the now-closed exit to the room.

"Roy?" Lemmy said bewilderedly, "What are you doing up here?"

Roy was wearing a hooded sweatshirt now, which he definitely wasn't wearing last time Lemmy saw him. He kept his hands in his pockets and he almost seemed to be hiding something.

"I wanted to talk to you," Roy explained, not moving from his current position, "What do you think about what Ludwig did."

"What Ludwig did?" Lemmy repeated confusedly, "If we're talking about when we were in that other world, I don't think he really had any control over what he was doing, to be honest."

"Really?"

"Yes. I think there was something going on in his head while we were over there. You shouldn't blame him for anything he did while we were over there."

"Who do you think killed Larry?"

Lemmy was taken aback by the question.

"I-I think it was an accident," Lemmy replied, "I don't think it was anyone's fault it happened."

"What if it was my fault?"

"Your fault? It wasn't your fault. All of us know that."

"Of course it's my fault. I'm the one who killed him."

"I saw where you were aiming, Roy. You never meant to kill him. It was an accident."

Roy stayed silent, staring at Lemmy for a moment.

"What is it going to take to get you to hate me, Lemmy?"

"What?" Lemmy exclaimed, "Why would you want me to hate you? I could never do that!"

"I can't do what I'm about to do unless I'm absolutely sure that you despise me, Lemmy."

"Why?! I can't hate you, Roy! I can't hate any of you! You're all my siblings!"

Roy sighed before proceeding to take off his sweatshirt, promptly tossing the garment across the room. Lemmy gasped in horror at what he saw. Roy's hands and forearms were completely drenched in blood and his shirt was also stained with the substance.

"I had a talk with Ludwig earlier," Roy said, moving closer to Lemmy, "We were able to resolve a lot of our own personal conflicts today. I was finally able to get him to agree to stop ridiculing me."

"R-really?" Lemmy stuttered, backing away. He wasn't even sure if Roy was being serious or not.

"It was quite the productive conversation," Roy continued, "I was able to blow off a lot of steam and, in the end, I think I was finally able to get him to see my point."

"I hope you forgave him too," Lemmy said. Roy gave him a confused look.

"Forgave him? That worthless peacock? He deserved what was coming to him."

Lemmy reeled back, glancing back at the blood on Roy's arms.

"Y-you didn't-"

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for a chance to do what I did to him today," Roy went on, "It felt liberating to finally be able to tear him to shreds."

Lemmy felt like he was going to be sick. Just then, his back hit the wall. He'd backed up as far as he could go, but Roy was still coming.

"Wh-why?!" Lemmy asked, trembling, "Why would you do that to him?!"

"Barring my own personal reasons," Roy explained, "I wanted to keep him from talking about what I did to Larry."

"Huh?"

"I'm smarter than you think I am, Lemmy. I'm certainly smarter than Ludwig thought I was. I know that, under pressure, people talk. People say things they're not supposed to. That's why I need this insurance. I need to remove every single bit of evidence against me."

"B-but I was there too!"

"Exactly."

Lemmy froze, finally realizing what Roy had come here for.

"Don't worry," Roy said, reaching out for Lemmy, "I'll make your death as quick and painless as possible. What I did to Ludwig was mostly just settling old scores."

Roy pushed one hand against Lemmy's chest, pinning the little Koopaling to the wall, and, with his other hand, he grabbed Lemmy by his chin, likely readying to snap Lemmy's neck, but, before he could, Lemmy was able to dig through his pocket and pull out the bloodied knife that was still there from earlier, quickly taking a swipe at Roy. Roy immediately backed away before he could be hit, releasing Lemmy so that the little Koopaling could distance himself from his would-be killer.

"Where did you get that?" Roy snarled. Even Lemmy was surprised that it was still on his person, but he'd figured out it was there before even encountering Roy here.

"Stand down, Roy," Lemmy said, shakily holding the knife's tip out in Roy's direction, "I don't want to have to hurt you."

"Don't get cute with me," Roy sneered, circling Lemmy, "You and I both know you're not strong enough to beat me. All you're doing is stalling for time, but it's not going to work."

"I don't understand!" Lemmy cried, keeping the knife pointed toward Roy, "You were protecting me then, but, now, you want to kill me! What's wrong with you?!"

"I'm a monster, Lemmy."

Lemmy froze.

"Wh-what do you mean by that?" Lemmy stuttered.

"I'm a coldhearted, bloodthirsty monster," Roy continued, "Selfish, apathetic, and psychopathic."

"No," Lemmy retorted, "This isn't like you. This isn't like the Roy I know."

"The Roy you know is a lie."

Lemmy reeled back.

"Wh-what?" Lemmy squeaked in fear.

"I've been holding myself back for this long," Roy explained, "In truth, I've always wanted to kill. It's taken a lot of self-control to hold myself back this long. Now, though, I don't see any point in holding back."

"H-huh?!"

"If I want to keep my good standing in this family, no one can know that I killed Larry, even if that means killing you in the process."

"No!" Lemmy screamed, surprising Roy, "No! No! No! I thought all of this was over!"

Roy stared at Lemmy, staying completely silent. Tears began streaming down Lemmy's cheeks.

"I can't go through this again!" Lemmy cried, squeezing his eyes shut, "I just wanted everything to go back to normal!"

Just then, Lemmy's knife was forced out of his hands and he was shoved to the floor. Lemmy's eyes shot open to see Roy standing over him, the knife in his hand. Lemmy then quickly rolled to the side as the knife embedded itself in the floor where Lemmy's head once was. He then lashed out and grabbed the knife, wrenching it from its place in the wooden floor and dodging to the side once again to avoid a powerful stomp from Roy. The little Koopaling quickly scrambled to his feet and distanced himself from Roy.

He then noticed that he was now standing between Roy and the door: his exit from the room. Roy must have noticed as well, because he immediately charged toward Lemmy. Lemmy ran for the door and swung it open, but Roy grabbed him by his shirt collar before he could escape, pulling the terrified Koopaling back toward him and wrapping his arm around Lemmy's neck to strangle him. Lemmy desperately tried to fight Roy's grasp, but he wasn't strong enough to escape. He was coughing and gasping for air, but none entered his lungs. His chest was beginning to burn and his vision was blurring out. As a last desperate move, he swung the knife in his hand backward and plunged it into Roy's shoulder. The older Koopaling roared in pain, letting go of Lemmy, who immediately raced out of the door and down the long, spiraling flight of stairs that led back down to the main part of the castle.

Lemmy was extremely off-balance and felt like he could collapse at any moment from lack of oxygen, but he knew he had to keep going or Roy would catch up to him. He then stumbled forward and began tumbling down the stairs, stopping somewhere close to the bottom of the flight. He could barely even think straight anymore. He just stayed where he was, breathing frantically and heavily. Every breath felt like a the stabbing of a knife in his lungs, but the little Koopaling could care less about the pain if it meant finally getting a good amount of oxygen in his lungs. Before too long, though, Lemmy was suddenly forcefully shoved down the remaining stairs below him to the landing at the bottom of the flight. He struggled to try to get up, but was forced back to the floor by Roy's foot on his back. That's when Lemmy finally gave up, closing his eyes and letting his muscles relax. He felt like crying, but he was too weak to even do that.

"Lemmy!"

The call resounded down the hallway. Someone was looking for him. Immediately, Roy ran off in the opposite direction, leaving Lemmy lying on the floor. Lemmy then slipped into unconsciousness.


	6. One by One They Fall

When Lemmy finally opened his eyes again, he found himself back in his own room. He was in his bed and Iggy, Wendy, and Morton were all sitting across the room from him. Once they saw that Lemmy was awake, though, they flocked to Lemmy's bedside.

"Are you okay?!" Iggy asked frantically, "We found you collapsed in the hallway!"

"You had blood on you," Morton added, "What happened?"

Lemmy stared blankly at Morton.

"B-blood?" Lemmy stuttered, his face growing pale.

"Yeah," Morton answered, "Don't worry, though. We washed it off for you."

Lemmy began shuddering. He remembered the blood on Roy's arms. Some of it must have gotten onto Lemmy when Roy grabbed him earlier.

"Is everything okay?" Wendy asked.

Lemmy sat up, wincing as bruises on his arms and legs reacted to having pressure placed onto them. He then placed a hand to his neck.

"I was almost killed."

Wendy and Morton reeled back and Iggy's face went pale.

"Wh-who would do something like that?!" Iggy asked.

Lemmy bit his lip, looking away. He wondered if telling his siblings about the incident was the best course of action. After all, Roy was only looking to kill anyone who knew about Larry's death. He then remembered that Iggy, Wendy, and Morton didn't know anything about that either.

"It was a thief that broke into the castle," Lemmy responded after a moment, "I accidentally ran into him and he tried to kill me."

Iggy suddenly pulled Lemmy into a tight hug.

"It's okay," Iggy said, "You're safe now."

Tears began streaming from Lemmy's eyes. He wasn't safe and he knew it. He could only hope that the rest of his siblings didn't start questioning Larry and Ludwig's strange disappearances.

* * *

Lemmy held Iggy's arm tightly. The two of them were on the balcony overlooking the city below them. It had been about two days since Roy had tried to kill him. He found that, as long as he stayed close to another one of his siblings, he was just fine. Roy was now carrying on as if nothing had ever happened.

Of course, their father had asked at the dinner table the night after the incident where Ludwig and Larry were. Roy had calmly answered that the two of them had gone on some kind of secret mission together. In fact, it seemed as if no time had passed here at all while the Koopalings were in that other world.

"What kind of secret stuff do you think Lud and Larry are doing out there?" Iggy asked suddenly. Lemmy tensed up.

"As if they ever would have told you."

Lemmy let out a nervous squeak as he and Iggy both turned to see Roy walking toward them. Roy then leaned against the railing of the balcony, standing directly beside Lemmy.

"Did they tell you?" Iggy asked Roy.

"They didn't tell me anything," Roy replied, "All they told me was that they were going on some kind of secret mission and that I didn't need to know what it was."

Roy almost looked to be nervous. Lemmy almost felt like Roy was staring directly at him, but he couldn't be sure because Roy was wearing his sunglasses like he always did.

"Well, I'm glad they at least told someone they were leaving," Iggy said.

"Can we go inside now?" Lemmy asked, trying to drag Iggy away from Roy. Roy then placed a firm hand on Lemmy's shoulder, startling the little Koopaling.

"Why leave?" Roy said, definitely glaring at Lemmy now, "It's not like you have anywhere to be right now, do you?"

"I just really want to leave," Lemmy replied, trembling.

"I have no idea why you want to get away from me," Roy said, "It's almost like you've been avoiding me ever since we got back from that other world."

"You know exactly why I'm avoiding you," Lemmy thought.

"Hey, Iggy," Roy called, "Do you mind leaving me and Lemmy alone for a minute? I'd like to get everything set straight between us."

"No!" Lemmy screamed, "Please, don't leave me alone with him!"

Roy recoiled as Iggy stared at him with a surprised look. Lemmy shrank back.

"I-I'm sorry, Roy," Lemmy stuttered, "I-I-"

"What's going on?" Iggy asked nervously, interrupting Lemmy. Roy bared his teeth.

"Lemmy and I really need to talk. Don't we, Lemmy?"

"Why can't you talk with me here?" Iggy asked, "I mean, if Lemmy's that scared of being left alone with you, I-"

"Get out. Now." Roy snarled at Iggy. Iggy tensed up.

"I'm not leaving," Iggy replied, "Lemmy obviously doesn't feel safe around you. I'm not leaving him alone like this."

"Why do you think that is?" Roy asked, more calmly this time. That's when Lemmy realized that Roy had changed his plan.

"I'll be fine, Iggy," Lemmy said hesitantly, "You can go."

"He's not going anywhere," Roy interjected. Lemmy froze in fear.

"What?!" Iggy exclaimed, "First you don't want me around and now you do?"

"Run!" Lemmy screamed, grabbing Iggy's hand, "We have to run!"

Iggy confusedly turned to run with Lemmy, but suddenly fell to the floor. Lemmy screamed. The knife he'd stabbed Roy with two days ago was now sticking up out of Iggy's back and the white lab coat Iggy was wearing was slowly being stained a bright crimson.

"I should thank you for leaving that little trinket behind for me," Roy spat, moving closer, "Although, considering you left it inside of my shoulder..."

Lemmy was struck silent, still staring at Iggy. Iggy was definitely still alive, as his chest still rose and fell from his shallow breathing, but it was clear he wouldn't last much longer. Lemmy then knelt down beside his brother, but Roy reached out and grabbed Iggy, pulling his nearly-dead brother upright before wrenching the knife out of his back.

"To think," Roy snarled at Lemmy, "All this could have been avoided if you'd just given yourself up already."

"Wh-why?" Lemmy stuttered, his face pale, "Why would you do this to him?"

"Every day that you're still alive is a liability. I can't allow you to get away from me, even if it means killing all of them off too."

Roy then shoved Iggy backward toward the railing of the balcony. Lemmy scrambled to his feet and desperately tried to get to Iggy, but he was too late. Iggy tumbled over the railing and began plummeting to the ground. Before he could see Iggy hit the ground, though, Roy covered his eyes, pulling him away from the railing.

"They'll all think it was suicide," Roy said, pressing his knife against Lemmy's back, "I hope you're ready to join him."

"What about Wendy and Morton?"

"What about them? They'll stay alive for as long as they can believe the story I'm laying out in front of them."

"And if they start doubting?"

"I don't have a choice."

Lemmy stayed completely still.

"Iggy never even knew what he did wrong."

"That's not my problem."

"You wouldn't tell Wendy or Morton anything either, would you?"

Roy stayed silent.

"Is this all some kind of game to you? Are you enjoying this?"

Roy still didn't respond.

"Are you really accomplishing anything by doing all this?"

"You ask too many questions."

Lemmy suddenly broke from Roy's grasp, catching him off-guard. Lemmy then ran away, leaving Roy alone on the balcony. Surprisingly, Roy didn't try to run after him this time. Lemmy had to wonder whether anything he said had impacted Roy at all.

* * *

Lemmy flung open the door to Wendy's room to find Wendy and Morton inside. He then slammed the door shut behind him and locked it.

"Lemmy?!" Wendy exclaimed in surprised, "What are you doing?"

"I'm not safe," Lemmy said, breathing heavily, "I needed to come here."

Just then, Wendy's cell phone sounded a tone.

"Hold on," Wendy said, reaching for her phone, "I just got a text."

Lemmy nodded silently. Wendy reached for her phone and swiped her finger across the screen.

"It's from Roy," Wendy said, "He says that King Dad wants to see us."

"Why?" Morton asked, "Can you ask him why?"

Lemmy walked over to Wendy and stared at the cell phone's screen as Wendy typed out her reply and sent it off. Roy's reply came almost unnaturally quickly.

 ** _Iggy's dead. He committed suicide._**

Wendy gasped, almost dropping her phone. Morton stared silently at the message.

"What is he doing?" Lemmy snarled, trembling with anger.

"What do you mean?" Wendy asked, staring at Lemmy.

"It wasn't suicide," Lemmy growled, "I was there. He was killed and I almost was too."

"By who?!" Morton exclaimed.

"That thief from earlier?" Wendy added.

"There was never any thief," Lemmy said, "I made that up to protect you guys, but, after what happened to Iggy, I knew it wouldn't protect you for much longer."

"What?" Wendy and Morton both muttered at once.

"It was Roy," Lemmy continued, "Roy's behind all of this. He's trying to cover up a death that was never his fault. He's already killed both Iggy and Ludwig over it and he's trying to kill me too."

"He killed Ludwig too?!" Morton cried, "He told us that Ludwig and Larry were out on some kind of secret mission!"

"What about Larry?" Wendy asked, her face growing pale, "What ever happened to him?"

"That's the death he's trying to cover up," Lemmy answered, "It happened while we were still in that other world, after Ludwig and Larry followed me and Roy to Armorie. It was just the four of us there when it happened. Larry was about to kill me, then Roy decided to use a gun that Ludwig had given him to fire off a warning shot to scare Larry, but things went wrong and Larry ended up dying because of it."

Wendy and Morton stared at Lemmy silently. Just then, Wendy's phone went off again.

 ** _If any of you tell anyone else about this, King Dad dies._**

All three of them froze. Was Roy watching them?

The phone went off once more.

 ** _King Dad is waiting for you._**

"We should probably go," Wendy said hesitantly. Lemmy felt his cheeks growing hot. How could Roy do something like this?

* * *

Lemmy, Wendy, and Morton finally arrived in their father's throne room. The Koopa King looked distressed as he watched them come in. Roy was already here and the other three Koopalings stood beside him, facing their father. Bowser then began to talk about Iggy's death, but Lemmy subconsciously tuned him out, only able to think about how the incident had actually happened. At one point, he glanced over at Roy, who seemed completely unfazed by what Bowser was saying. It made his blood boil to think that Roy was pulling the strings to make it look like Iggy had killed himself.

Just then, a furied cry pierced through the solemn mood in the room. Before Lemmy even had time to think about where the outburst had come from, he saw Morton tear past him, charging toward Roy. In an instant, Roy dodged around Morton, shoving him to the floor. As he did, though, his sunglasses slid down the bridge of his nose and Lemmy was able to catch a glimpse of the terrifying look in Roy's eyes. That's when he noticed something strange. They were faint, but Lemmy could have sworn he saw crimson rings around Roy's irises.

 _"What?! I thought only Iggy and I had those!"_

Morton pushed himself up off the floor, glaring at Roy with an intense look in his eye. Roy re-adjusted his sunglasses, keeping his gaze locked on Morton.

"I know you're upset," Roy said, "but that's no reason to take it out on me. It's not like Iggy's death was my fault, was it? Now let's save the arguing for when we're away from King Dad, shall we? He has enough to worry about right now."

Lemmy glanced over at Bowser, who was looking on in horror. Lemmy couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He had no idea what was going on and, as long as Roy had the Koopa family wrapped around his finger, he never would know.

"I'm not letting this go," Morton snarled, "You think I'm just going to let you walk away from this? I'm going to make you sorry, Roy."

"Really?" Roy replied curiously, "How do you intend to do that?"

Lemmy noticed Roy twitch. Roy definitely knew that Morton was just as powerful as he was and the thought of having to fight him obviously made him nervous.

"That's enough!" Bowser shouted, "We're all upset, but that's no reason to act like this, Morton! Now leave your brother alone!"

"Listen to him, Morton," Roy added, "You don't want to start anything you'll regret later."

"I don't care about regretting it later," Morton spat, "Heads are going to roll today, Roy. Mine might be on the chopping block soon enough, but I'll make sure yours is the first to go."

"Please tell me you mean that metaphorically," Roy said nervously.

"Why would I?" Morton responded, "Of course, I guess the real question here is what you're going to do to try to stop it."

The room went deathly silent in an instant. Lemmy realized that Morton was really serious. He was actually going to try to kill Roy right here and now.

"You wouldn't really try to kill me, would you?" Roy asked sincerely, "You and I have always gotten along. You've looked up to me your entire life."

"Morton," Bowser called, "Stop this. I'm not having any more talk of this."

Two armored, spear-wielding guards then crossed the room and grabbed Morton's arms, restraining him. Lemmy saw a look of genuine fear on his father's face. He looked over at Wendy, who was watching the situation unfold with a blank expression. It was clear that she had no idea how to handle the situation at hand. Roy's expression was also vacant. He definitely wasn't going to go handle this situation the same way he did with Iggy. Bowser was amazingly powerful and it would be unwise for Roy to alert him of his intentions.

"Let this go, Morton," Roy implored. His voice was shaking and his face had gone pale.

"No!" Morton yelled, "Never! Never in a million years! Today, you die, Roy!"

Morton then broke free from the guards' grasp, wrenching a spear from one of the guards' hands and charging at Roy once more. Roy, startled, stumbled backward into a suit of armor behind him, sending the pieces of it, including the large battle axe it was holding, clattering to the floor. In an instant, just before Morton was right on top of him, Roy snatched up the axe off of the floor and swung it in a horizontal arc at Morton. Lemmy shut his eyes tightly after that and only heard what happened next. Wendy screamed, then two somethings hit the floor one after the other, likely Morton's body and some other thing. The axe also fell to the floor, the loud clattering resounding through the room.

That was when Lemmy finally dared to open his eyes. Roy had crossed the room and was now standing closer to Bowser's throne. There were multiple guards huddled about Morton's body, but Lemmy could clearly see one of the guards pick up Morton's head off the floor. Just then, Wendy's phone went off, signaling another text. Lemmy moved closer to Wendy to see the text.

 ** _He knew that heads would roll today._**

Lemmy stared at the text for a moment before glancing at Wendy. Her face was contorted into an expression of both fear and fury. She then began to make out a reply, her fingernails ticking rhythmically as she typed.

 _He was ready to give up his own life to stop you. He knew that, if he killed you, he was as good as dead too._

Roy's response came quickly.

 ** _You almost had me too. If Morton hadn't made that one fatal mistake, you might have won._**

"Roy," Bowser managed to choke out. He almost looked like he wanted to say something else, but he stayed in a catatonic silence. Lemmy had never seen him this terrified before.

"I'm so sorry," Roy replied, defending himself, "You have to understand, he was charging toward me with a spear. I only did what I did in self-defense. It was either me or him."

Roy was trembling now, beginning to back away from where his father was. His teeth were bared and his face was extremely pale.

"I was only trying to defend myself, I sw-"

"Get out," Bowser said at once, cutting Roy off, "All of you get out."

Roy shot a glare at Lemmy and Wendy before storming out of the room. The other two Koopalings then left the room as well.

Halfway back to Wendy's room, her phone sounded again.

 ** _I'm going to tear you two to shreds_**

Wendy replied immediately.

 _What did you mean when you said Morton made a fatal mistake?  
_

 _ **That doesn't matter.**  
_

 _It matters to me.  
_

 ** _He was an idiot. Of course, you and Lemmy made the same mistake. If you'd told King Dad then and there that I'd killed Iggy, I would have been in trouble. Fortunately for me, you didn't think to do that._**

Wendy froze. Lemmy quickly snatched the cell phone from Wendy.

 _You really care more about your reputation than you do your own family, don't you?  
_

 ** _You can't understand any of this, Lemmy._**

Lemmy shuddered. Roy was definitely watching them.

 _I can understand that you're a self-centered maniac.  
_

 _ **I'm a monster. I've always been this way.**  
_

 _Never as badly as this, though.  
_

 _ **What do you care? You know nothing about me.**  
_

 _This isn't about you, Roy. This is about everyone you're hurting._

This time, the reply took a little longer.

 ** _My whole life has been one huge struggle to maintain my dignity._**

Lemmy began typing a reply, but another message from Roy came in almost immediately.

 ** _No. My whole life has been one huge struggle to maintain my sanity._**

Then the messages began flooding in.

 ** _I can't stop thinking about killing  
_**

 ** _It consumes every thought  
_**

 ** _It won't stop  
_**

 ** _It's in my nightmares  
_**

 ** _It's in my dreams  
_**

 ** _It's always been there  
_**

 ** _It's like a curse  
_**

 ** _It doesn't leave  
_**

 ** _I try so hard to hold it back  
_**

 ** _It's like there's this parasite inside of me that tells me to kill  
_**

 ** _It wants me to feed it's crazed blood-lust  
_**

 ** _It won't go away  
_**

 ** _Every day, it tells me to kill  
_**

 ** _Kill Ludwig  
_**

 ** _Kill Lemmy  
_**

 ** _Kill Wendy  
_**

 ** _Kill Iggy  
_**

 ** _Kill Morton  
_**

 ** _Kill Larry  
_**

 ** _Kill King Dad  
_**

 ** _Kill Junior  
_**

 ** _Kill everyone  
_**

 ** _Kill them all  
_**

 ** _It won't stop  
_**

 ** _It's like a curse  
_**

 ** _It won't go away_**

Lemmy could barely take it anymore.

 _This isn't something you can work out yourself?  
_

 _ **Once it started, the voices wouldn't stop**  
_

 _ **They're ordering me to feed them**  
_

 _ **I killed Larry and it triggered them**  
_

 _Calm down, Roy. There's got to be something we can do to help you. Just please stop all of this.  
_

 ** _This isn't your problem._**

Lemmy was taken aback.

 _Don't tell me this isn't our problem! We're your siblings and we want to help you!  
_

 _ **I'm going to kill you. Don't try to worm your way out of this.**  
_

 _You're making excuses for yourself. Please, just let us help you.  
_

 _ **Don't think you can fix me. It won't work.**  
_

 ** _You two are as good as dead._**

Lemmy was about to type a reply, but, just then, he heard a strange noise from above him and Wendy. He was about to look up, but Wendy shoved him away, sending the little Koopaling tumbling to the floor. Just as she did, an avalanche of broken stone rained down from the ceiling on top of her. Once the dust cleared and Lemmy could see again, he could only see Wendy's arm, lying limp and lifeless under the huge pile of rubble. The phone went off again.

 ** _One to go_**

Lemmy scrambled to his feet and took off down the hallway as fast as his feet could carry him. Tears were beginning to form in his eyes. He was scared out of his mind. Roy was coming for him and he couldn't be stopped.


	7. A Final Desperate Plan

Lemmy hugged his knees, having huddled into the corner of the castle guards' break room. There was always someone here at all hours of the day, so it was the one place that Lemmy felt safe right now. Bowser still didn't want anyone around, so this was the next best option.

"What are you dolts doing in here?!"

The familiar voice pierced through the peace of the room. The guards all immediately stood at attention as their prince, Bowser Jr., entered the room.

"I heard from one of the guards that papa's upped security detail, so what are you idiots doing lounging around?! Get out of here!"

The guards saluted Junior and began to file out of the room. Junior then stole across the room to snatch a donut from a box lying on the table. Lemmy stood up and Junior turned to stare at him, seeming surprised by his presence.

"Lemmy?" Junior said confusedly, "What in the world are you doing here?"

Lemmy's gaze darted to the side. He knew that Bowser was extremely overprotective of his youngest son, so he probably didn't know about any of the deaths that had just occurred.

"Can I tag along with you for a while?" Lemmy asked. He knew that being alone would be the death of him, so following Junior around for a while was his only option at this point.

"Why do you ask?" Junior replied.

"It's just...I'm not really too keen on being alone right now."

Junior stared suspiciously at Lemmy for a moment before shrugging and motioning for Lemmy to follow him. Wendy's phone then went off, startling Lemmy. He'd almost forgotten he'd been holing onto it.

 ** _Don't think he'll save you._**

Lemmy stared blankly at Roy's message for a moment. Junior stared back at him.

"Isn't that Wendy's phone?" Junior asked, "What are you doing with it?"

"I'm just holding onto it for her," Lemmy said. Technically, he wasn't lying.

 _ **You've already missed your chance to save yourself. Just give it up already. You're just holding off the inevitable.**  
_

 _What would you do if I told him?  
_

 _ **You know full well what would happen, you little freak. I already told you what would happen if you told anyone else.**  
_

 _What about the security detail?  
_

 _ **I know my way around this castle, Lemmy. I can get into that throne room no problem.**  
_

 _The guards would be there. Could you kill all of them too?  
_

 _ **Quit trying to play games with me.**  
_

 _It's a legitimate question. Can you answer it for me?_

The reply took a while.

 _ **You tell him and I'll kill him. I swear it.**  
_

 _You can't even keep your own word, can you?  
_

 _ **You think I won't kill him?**  
_

 _You know I'm not talking about that.  
_

 _ **Don't try to get into my head. I never said I couldn't get past those guards.**  
_

 _So do it. I dare you.  
_

 ** _You know you're toying with lives that aren't your own right now, don't you?_**

Lemmy took a deep breath. Roy was right. He was toying with lives that weren't his own. If this backfired, not only would he lose his own life, but his father and Junior would probably lose theirs as well. It was the riskiest option by far, but it was his only hope now. He was going to try to bluff his way out of a death sentence.

 _I'm not about to let you get away with murder, Roy.  
_

 _ **Don't give me that crap.**  
_

 _You're not the only one who spies on people you know.  
_

 ** _What do you mean by that?_**

"Hey, Junior?" Lemmy said, "Can I take you somewhere really quick? I promise it won't take that long."

"Where?" Junior asked, stopping and turning to face Lemmy.

"It's a surprise," Lemmy said, forcing a smile.

"Okay," Junior replied hesitantly, "Lead the way."

Lemmy took Junior by the hand and began leading him in the opposite direction down the hall. Luckily, where he wanted to go wasn't too far from where he was now.

The phone went off again.

 ** _Where are you taking him?_**

Lemmy ignored the message.

 ** _Where are you taking him?_**

Lemmy kept ignoring Roy's question.

 _ **Where are you taking him?**  
_

 _ **Where in the heck are you taking him?**  
_

 _ **WHERE ARE YOU TAKING HIM?**  
_

 _It's a surprise, silly.  
_

 _ **What?**  
_

 _It wouldn't be fair to tell you if I'm not telling him._

Lemmy knew he was taking a gamble on the location, but he desperately hoped he was right.

 _ **You're playing games with me. You don't even know where you're going.**  
_

 _You want to bet on that?_

There was no reply from Roy for a good while. In fact, once the reply came, it startled Lemmy.

 _ **What do you want out of me?**  
_

 _I want you to give this up. You can stop all of this now, or you can wait for me to stop it all for you.  
_

 _ **You're bluffing. You have no idea what you're doing.**  
_

 _Aren't you the one that's bluffing here?  
_

 _ **Quit playing games with me.**  
_

 _Aren't games so much fun, though? You certainly seem to think this entire situation's like one big game. What are you going to do if everything goes your way?  
_

 _ **You're not doing this to me. There's no way you're doing this to me.**  
_

 _I'm turning the tables on you. The ball's in my court now, Roy. Where's it going to go from here, I wonder?  
_

 _ **STOP**  
_

 _Only you can decide how all of this is going to end.  
_

 _ **I SAID STOP**  
_

 _You thought you had me wrapped around your finger, but it's the other way around now. How do you like it?  
_

 _ **I never said I was worried, did I? I said that you're bluffing.**  
_

 _Do you really believe that, or are you just telling yourself that to make yourself feel better?_

"Lemmy?"

Junior surprised Lemmy, almost causing him to drop the phone.

"Yeah?" Lemmy replied.

"Who are you texting?"

"No one, really,"

"Then why were you grinning like a maniac?"

Lemmy was struck silent. He felt like he should be mad at himself for enjoying what he was doing to Roy, but it felt so good to finally get back at Roy that he couldn't feel guilty about it.

"No reason," Lemmy said, flashing a smile. This time, it was genuine. Junior looked almost nervous. Lemmy then turned the last corner he needed to turn and led Junior down the last flight of stairs they needed to descend.

"Um," Junior interjected, "Aren't we not supposed to come down here?"

 ** _TURN AROUND_**

"This is really important," Lemmy replied, "I need you to keep following me, okay?"

"You're starting to scare me," Junior said nervously, "You're all starting to scare me. Papa doesn't want to see anyone and he's increasing all his guard detail, you're leading me to someplace we're not even supposed to go, and I haven't even seen any of the others since last night.

 ** _I'LL KILL BOTH OF YOU_**

"There's a really good reason for all of that," Lemmy responded, "You'll see in just a moment."

Lemmy finally knew he was heading to the right place.

 _ **DO YOU THINK I'M LYING?**  
_

 _Believe me now?_

"Can you at least tell me why we're heading toward papa's secret wing?" Junior asked.

"I need to show you something," Lemmy answered.

 _ **How did you know he was down there?**  
_

 _Remember when I said that you're not the only one who spies on people? I happen to know he used to come down here when he needed to be alone with his thoughts.  
_

 _ **So you were bluffing the entire time. You just hoped he'd be here and went with it.**  
_

 _I had a hunch. Thank you for confirming my suspicions._

Lemmy and Junior both stopped at once. They were now standing in front of the large, steel door that led to their father's private wing. At the moment, it was closed and locked.

 _ **You have no idea how to get in.**  
_

 _You really think so? I know how to open this door. I've seen him do it before.  
_

 _ **OPEN THAT DOOR AND I'LL KILL YOU BOTH**  
_

 _It's your fault for not moving the body.  
_

 ** _YOU WOULDN'T DARE OPEN THAT DOOR_**

Lemmy began fiddling with the locking mechanism until he heard the satisfying sound of the lock clicking open.

 ** _DON'T YOU DARE OPEN THAT DOOR_**

Lemmy grabbed hold of the latch and pulled the door open. Immediately, Ludwig's corpse fell over in front of him, startling the little Koopaling. Roy must have left Ludwig's body leaning against the door when he left. The corpse was horribly mangled, but it was definitely Ludwig.

Lemmy glanced over at Junior, who looked like he was about to throw up. His face was paler than he'd ever seen it get before and he seemed faint.

"This is what I wanted you to see," Lemmy said, "This is the cold reality of what's been going on here."

"It's also the last thing you're ever going to see."

Lemmy and Junior both whirled around to see Roy standing behind them, blocking their exit.

"Wh-what's going on here?" Junior stuttered.

"You did exactly what I thought you'd do," Lemmy said, glaring at Roy, "I knew you couldn't go through with your threat."

"Of course I can," Roy snarled, "I'm doing that right now."

"You know I'm not talking about that," Lemmy replied. Roy stared at Lemmy for a moment, taken aback.

"Why did you...do this?" Roy asked hesitantly, still keeping his gaze locked on Lemmy.

"I told you I could help you," Lemmy said, "I want this to end, Roy. If I can't get it to end by helping you out, then I'll do it in the only other way I can."

"That being?"

"Tearing your composure down to the ground."

Roy took a step back. Lemmy wondered if he'd really intimidated Roy.

"You have a choice, Roy," Lemmy continued, "You can either give up now or stay here and kill us both."

"Those rings are a curse."

Lemmy reeled back in shock. He hadn't expected that kind of response from Roy. He quickly realized that he must have the rings in his eyes he got whenever he was seriously angry. Then, Lemmy remembered something else.

"You have them too, don't you?"

"How did you know?" Roy exclaimed.

"I saw them earlier," Lemmy replied, "How do you have those?"

"They're the work of the parasite; the one that tells me to kill. It put them there. They only show up when it's hungry."

"You're delusional," Junior muttered.

"It's all in your head, Roy," Lemmy said, "There are no parasites."

"I don't know what to believe anymore," Roy responded. He then took off his sunglasses. The crimson rings around his irises were much brighter and more pronounced than the last time Lemmy had seen them. Lemmy started to feel sorry for Roy. How long had he been lying to himself about having some kind of bloodthirsty parasite living inside of him? Was that something he even believed to be true or was it another excuse he was making to himself?

"We can help you, Roy," Lemmy said, starting toward Roy, "You don't have to keep going on like this."

"You can't help me," Roy replied, "No one can help me. This is something that none of you can understand."

Lemmy stopped, not more than a foot in front of Roy now. He then reached for Roy, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Don't push us away, Roy. We're here for you."

"You can't help. Quit trying."

"I'm not going to stop trying to help you"

"I said to stop."

"I'm only trying to do what's best for you."

Lemmy then jumped backward, stumbling back toward the doorway behind him. Just as he'd predicted, Roy had pulled out his knife.

"I'm going to kill you and there's nothing you can do to stop it," Roy snarled, "I'm not giving you any mercy now."

"All right," Lemmy said with a smirk, "Before you do, let's play one last game. Do you notice anything missing from this picture?"

Roy seemed confused for a second, but suddenly froze in realization.

"Junior's missing..."

"Correct!" Lemmy cheered. Everything was going according to plan. While he distracted Roy, Junior had run off, just like Lemmy intended him to.

"You have another two choices now," Lemmy went on, "You can either stay here and kill me or you can try to go after Junior. Just to let you know, though: whatever option you choose, I still have Wendy's cell phone and I will use it. Choose wisely."

Roy stared at Lemmy for a moment, obviously trying to decide what to do. He then winced before running after Junior. Lemmy took Wendy's cell phone out of his pocket.

"Run as fast as you can, Roy, but this game is over."

* * *

Two hours later, Lemmy found himself sitting next to Junior in the castle dining room. Bowser and the castle guards had been notified of everything that Roy had done and they were now searching for Roy to take him into custody. Surprisingly, though, Lemmy soon found out that Roy had never actually gone after Junior at all. Instead, he'd stolen out of the castle before word about the murders could reach anyone else's ears. It was a smart move on Roy's part.

"I can't believe all of this happened," Junior said, "It's just so unbelievable."

"I couldn't believe it either at first," Lemmy responded. Just then, he heard Wendy's cell phone go off in his pocket. He pulled out the phone and checked the message he'd been sent. It was from Roy.

 _ **Why did you do this to me?**  
_

 _I had to. I didn't have a choice.  
_

 _ **Is there anyone I can trust anymore?**  
_

 _Not after what you've done. You condemned yourself, you know.  
_

 _ **I'm so confused.**  
_

 _What is there to be confused about?  
_

 _ **It keeps telling me to kill.**  
_

 _Don't listen to it.  
_

 ** _It tells me to kill.  
_**

 _ **I can't ignore it.**  
_

 _You can't get to us anymore, Roy.  
_

 ** _You're not who it's telling me to kill._**

Lemmy froze. What was going through his head now?

 _ **It's telling me to kill**  
_

 ** _I can't ignore it  
_**

 ** _It won't go away  
_**

 ** _I'm scared  
_**

 _ **There's nothing for it left to feed on**  
_

 _Calm down, Roy. There's no parasite. You're fine.  
_

 _ **Why does it keep telling me to do this?**  
_

 _ **There's nothing left to kill**  
_

 _ **There's only one thing left to kill**  
_

Lemmy's eyes widened in realization and he almost lost his grip on the cell phone.

 _Don't do that, Roy! Get a hold of yourself! You're going to be fine! There's no parasite!  
_

 _ **I can't ignore it**  
_

 _ **It won't go away**  
_

 _Stay with me, Roy! You're going to be just fine!  
_

 _ **I'm scared, Lemmy**  
_

 _You're going to be just fine! There's no parasite! You can pull through this!_

This time, there was no reply. Tears began to form in Lemmy's eyes.

"Was that him?" Junior asked.

"What have I done?" Lemmy said, choking on sobs. Just then, the phone went off one last time.

 ** _Thank you for everything, Lemmy. Goodbye._**


	8. In Memoriam Vos

Bowser Jr. strode down the hall on his way to Lemmy's room. It had been about two days since their incident with Roy and he wanted to see how Lemmy was doing. He hadn't come to dinner last night and both Junior and his father were worried about him.

"Lemmy?" Junior called, slowly opening the door to Lemmy's room. Everything in the room looked neat and tidy as if Lemmy had just cleaned up. Junior quickly noticed a piece of paper on the desk, though. Picking it up, he found it to be a note written by Lemmy.

 _"To whoever finds this note,_

 _I've been through a lot over the past week, from the deaths of most of my siblings to my own almost-murder. I've also done a lot wrong. I'm going to make it up to them, though. I'm going to make it up to all of them._

 _I've left the castle for good. Don't try to find me. I'm going to find a way to bring my siblings back to life. Some may say it's impossible, but Iggy always thought it was real so I do too._

 _As I dabble in this arcane science, I've decided to seclude myself. Once again, please don't try to find me. I don't want to be found._  
 _I'm going to bring them back. I promise._

 _~ Lemmy Koopa"_

Junior stared at the note in his hands in disbelief. He then raced out of the room. He knew that Lemmy didn't want to be found, but Junior still felt that he had to look for him. He couldn't just leave Lemmy out there on his own.

* * *

Junior found himself wandering into yet another small Toad village. He'd searched all across the Darklands for Lemmy and, once that search turned up nothing, he'd traveled to the Mushroom Kingdom to see if Lemmy had gone there. He'd been searching for Lemmy for four months now. By this time, Bowser was fully aware of what his son was doing and was even supporting him in his search, but they were still turning up nothing everywhere they went. It was beginning to frustrate Junior to no end.

Junior pulled the hood of his cloak up over his head, keeping his head low as he made his way through the village. He wasn't about to have a bunch of Toads freaking out because they'd seen the crown prince of the Koopa Empire. It had also begun to rain, so the cloak was useful in more ways than one.

Just then, Junior overheard two Toad women gossiping with each other. He decided to eavesdrop and see what they were talking about.

"I just don't get it. There seem to be more and more anntenae on that strange house every day."

"You haven't heard the rumors? They say a mad scientist lives in that house."

"A mad scientist?!"

"No one's ever seen his face, but some people have heard him talk about trying to raise the dead or something strange like that."

Junior's eyes widened. They were definitely talking about Lemmy.

"Do you really think that's what he's trying to do?"

"No one knows for sure, but he's definitely a creepy guy."

"Excuse me!" Junior called, "I couldn't help but overhear you talking about a mad scientist that lives in this village. Can you take me to where he lives?"

"Can it wait until after the storm?" one of the Toad women said, "There's supposed to be thunder and lightning. It would be best to stay indoors."

"I don't know why you want to see that mad scientist anyway," the other Toad woman added with a shudder, "He's a creepy recluse that's always talking about really weird and creepy things."

"Today seems like the perfect day for him," the first Toad woman pointed out, "Have you ever seen the monster movies? The mad scientists always use thunderstorms when they bring the dead back to life."

"Wh-what?!" Junior exclaimed. He'd already known that fact, but it wasn't until it was brought up that he realized that Lemmy might be trying to use this thunderstorm to carry out his plan.

A sudden thunderclap in the distance scared Junior out of his wits.

"You should come inside with us," one of the Toad women offered, "We can wait out the storm together, if you want."

"I have to find Lemmy!" Junior cried, ignoring the Toad woman's offer and racing off into the storm. As he ran, he noticed that the thunder and lightning were getting closer and closer. Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a house with multiple antennae on its roof, just like what the Toad women had described.

"This is it! I've finally found him!"

Junior began toward the house, but he was stopped in his tracks when a lightning bolt tore through the sky, striking the multiple antennae mounted on the top of the house. The electricity lingered there for a minute, then everything went wrong.

* * *

Lemmy made the last few calibrations on the machine in front of him. The machine was wired up to Iggy's reconstructed corpse. If everything went according to plan, he'd soon have Iggy back.

Lemmy glanced over at the other reconstructed corpses sitting on the other side of the room. He never was able to find Roy, even though he never did find out if he really killed himself or not, and he presumed Larry's body was still in the other world, but he still had Iggy, Ludwig, Wendy, and Morton. He was using Iggy to test the system. If this experiment went well, the others would come next.

The thunder outside was beginning to get louder. Now Lemmy was confident that everything was calibrated and ready to go.  
Just then, the lightning he needed struck the antennae mounted on the top of the house. Lemmy rushed over to the machine, then turned his gaze back toward Iggy. The electricity was beginning to work its magic.

"Yes! Yes!"

If Lemmy had been paying attention to the machine, though, he would have seen the warning lights all going off at once. The system was overloading. Instead, though, Lemmy's gaze was fixed on Iggy as he grinned like a madman, tears running down his cheeks.

Iggy never moved once.

* * *

Junior began toward the house, but he was stopped in his tracks when a lightning bolt tore through the sky, striking the multiple antennae mounted on the top of the house. The electricity lingered there for a minute before a sudden explosion blew out an entire wall of the house, scattering debris all around. Terrified, Junior rushed toward the house.

"Please let him be okay. Please let him be okay."

Junior made his way through the rubble of the ruined wall and into the house. There were machine parts scattered everywhere. On one side of the room were three corpses: Ludwig's, Wendy's, and Morton's. In the center of the room, there was a table and, on the floor beside the table, there was Iggy's corpse, looking to have fallen off the table as a result of the explosion. It was then that he finally found Lemmy.

"Oh no..."

Lemmy was splayed out on the floor across the room from the blown-out wall. His body was charred and disfigured. He was dead, without a doubt.

Junior bared his teeth and tried to hold back his tears. He then turned and left the house the same way he'd come in, leaving Lemmy's little collection of corpses to rot forever with its newest addition.


End file.
